My Buttercup Collection
by TheEarthTiger
Summary: Precisely what the title says. Not always greens, each one-shot are unrelated to each other unless stated otherwise. Rating varies. DISCLAIMER, I OWN NOTHING. Ch7: something about ambition - In which I sort the powerpuff girls into their Hogwarts house, and compare them to the Black sisters.
1. Butch and Brie's Game Plan

**Title:** "Butch and Brie's Game Plan"

a.k.a. Game Plan AU in greens

 **Summary:** Butch, I know this is a big surprise, but Brie is your daughter. I need you to watch her for a month. It's an emergency, I'm sorry, I'll explain when I come back from Africa. Written and Printed from Buttercup Utonium's desk.

 **Pairing/s:** Greens, Reds, Blues

 **Warnings Include:** Mature language, Character death, and some other things...

* * *

It's the last quarter with seven minutes left on the clock, Butch Johnson grits his teeth in frustration from the previous play, with the rest of his team mates in equal turmoil.

"Folks, this is it, fourth down and thirteen yards to go. And the score is Twenty-six to twenty-one, Seattle Seahawks. Will the Johnson brothers pull a miracle? Or will the Hawks win the season?"

Butch spares a glance to his older brother, the quarterback, Brick Jojo dubbed as the Red-eyed Bludgeoner. His brother's ginger hair is spread all over his frame- some tangled in his helmet that Butch just knows will annoy him later.

Butch looks over to his younger brother who is looking at him in slight annoyance- Boomer is a free safety. Butch shrugs subtly in silent communication- no, he doesn't know what Brick is planning.

Then in one quick motion, the ball is snapped, and Brick runs.

WHY DIDN'T HE MAKE A PASS? Butch shares this thought with the Half-back, Mitch Mitchelson, who looks more confused than anything at the moment.

Brick runs to the side, he's weaving and dodging and running over those seahawk fuckers. And he's holding the football precariously. Jesus Christ, have mercy on his brother.

He won't make it- not with fucking Mike Believe on the field, Brick's only weakness being his slim figure. Neither Boomer nor Brick were really able to build muscle like Butch had over the years- thus why he's the tallest and largest of his brothers.

And suddenly, like a light bulb turning on, his body moves before he can think more about it, and he runs- runs like the wind just in time to spot Brick throwing it. BUTCH IS NOT A GUNNER, DAMMIT! It was in the direction of no man's land, but Boomer, bless him, is already there and caught it with no forewarning whatsoever. Butch is a good twenty yards away from the zone, Boomer wheezes through like lightning, skids like he's dancing the limbo to avoid a random seahawk, throwing the football to Butch.

The coach, who is cursing and yelling _"This is not the game Plan!"_ makes Butch want to throw away his helmet with the damn headset.

And Butch is still running, shouldering two players of the rival team. He jumps, sticks the landing, raises his hands;

"TOUCHDOWN! It's a touchdown from the Baron of Berserk, everybody! Another smooth play from the Johnson Brothers delivering a new win under the New York Giants!"

* * *

"How are the Giants planning on celebrating this win?"

"Oh, _they're_ having a party." Brick answers

"Hosted by yours truly." Butch cuts in

"They're?" The woman asks

Brick nods; "Yeah, my new wife and I are gonna do dinner at our favorite restaurant, Daniel Boulud's."

Butch rolls his eyes- of course Brick would remember to advertise the new sponsor.

"They're trying for a baby." Boomer adds playfully

Brick backhands his brother in the cheek playfully. "Not that Boomer's any better, he has a date."

"With that Victoria's Secret model, right?" Butch adds

"She's an angel. F off."

"I'm sure we'll hear more about that soon." The woman smiles

* * *

"Yeah, those wide receivers just run in terror at the sight of me, baby." Butch brags

The girl giggles, running a hand over his arm. "You must be bigger than what they're used to."

Butch grins, "Well… wouldn't you like to know."

"Is it true that you were married, once?"

Butch groans internally. Why does this have to be brought up? It was a Vegas marriage, alright? Apparently the papers are making him out to be some man-whore that won't settle down. Just because Brick is newly married, and Boomer has a secret relationship doesn't mean he's ready for a commitment either.

"Mitch, my man. This is Sally-

"Susie"

"Susie, and uhm, I'm gonna get the pizza downstairs, alright?" He tells them, then whispers to Mitch; "keep her"

He exits the living room, dodging guests and the like to go to the elevator, instead of pushing the button for the Upper Ground, he pushes the button for the rooftop. Johnson Condo Units, three buildings, all with fifteen floors, and all his. A private garage, a top-floor en-suite, a big jacuzzi of his own, a public and private pool, a VIP's gym, state of the art technology, and a number of fancy cars- all a product of his hard-earned money from football, and the people renting the condo units.

Butch leans over the rail.

He just won. And with a touchdown too.

He should be happy…

But then, why isn't he?

It's like there's something missing, a puzzle piece he can't seem to find that only looks to be filled when he's either drinking or whoring. It sounds so barbaric that even he is getting sick of it- sick _from_ it, even.

* * *

The phone from the living room is ringing. Butch falls off the bed, startling his golden retriever. He scrambles to get to the phone. His dog watches him from the bed.

Hungover from last night's party, he speaks with a lightness, "Hello?"

"Buenos Dias, Señor boss man. I have a visitor for you in the lobby. A girl named Brie?"

Butch makes a face, "I don't know any Brie…"

"A young lady… uhm, black hair, ehm-

"She cute?" Butch asks curiously

"Oh, very cute sir. Muy, muy lindo."

"What're you waiting for, Arturo, my man, send her up!"

Little did he know...

* * *

A young girl with wavy black hair stands on his doorstep with one black suitcase, an MLP backpack, and a yellow minion stuffed-toy.

"But I don't want any money, I wa-

"Hold on, I know what you want! An autograph! Stay right there, kid, I'll get you my best portrait!" Butch doesn't close the door on the kid this time, what a mistake it was.

"You have a puppy!"

Butch comes back to the living room to find the girl sitting cross-legged on his carpet, petting his dog.

"Kid! What the- dude, you shouldn't, what're you- You can't just walk in on a stranger's home like this! What if I was a serial killer or something. There's a lot of weirdos and maniacs and criminals out there, didn't your mom ever teach you that?"

The kid pouts, stands up slowly, looks up at him. "I'm sorry."

"How did you even get here, kid? Who sent ya? Are you one of my tenants' kid? Locked out or something? Where's your ma? Hm?"

"On an airplane."

"On a- on a what? Is this some kind of 'Home Alone' bulls- thing going on? What about your dad? Do you know where he is? God, I swear, if he's one of my tenants, I'm gonna have a serious word with him. He must be worried sick, I'm sure he's looking for you, do you know his name?"

The corner of the kid's lips turn upward in a hauntingly familiar way- troublemaker, this kid. "He's not looking for me."

Butch raises a brow in silent question.

"He's looking at me." Her familiar eyes look straight at Butch.

ALERT. ALERT. ALERT.

Goosebumps spread from his arms like a sign from above, and the black suitcase outside his living room door catches the corner of his eyes.

"Hi… we've never met before, you were married to my mom- Buttercup Utonium. My name is Brianna Utonium, I'm your daughter."

* * *

"Read again?" Boomer asks

In a lazy tone, Brick reads from the couch, "Butch, I know this is a big surprise, but Brie is your daughter. I need you to watch her for a month. It's an emergency, I'm sorry, I'll explain when I come back from Africa. Written and Printed from Buttercup Utonium's desk."

Butch groans. "She cannot be serious"

"I mean… the kid looks like a mini you… so…"

"We could always do a DNA test?" Brick offers

"Yes, let's go do that." Butch agrees

Boomer holds up a hand. "Or. We could ask Buttercup. Kid, Brianna, sweetie, do you know your mom's cell number?"

Brie shakes her head in a negative.

Brick asks next; "Email?"

"They don't have internet there. She's helping the sick!" She says proudly

"How old are you, kid?" Brick eyes her suspiciously

Butch lights up for a moment, but then the kid says; "Eight… well, almost. I'll be eight in July."

July. The divorce papers were finalized three months before July- which is why Buttercup didn't wanna see him- if he did see her then, he'd have known she was pregnant.

"Oh sh-

Boomer puts a hand over Butch's mouth before he could finish the sentence.

"We could still do the DNA test" Brick says, coming to the same conclusion Butch had.

"I have a birth certificate." The kid proceeds to unzip her backpack again. She rummages for a second before revealing the _'birth certificate'_.

Brick makes a grab for it, making Brianna frown at the rude play.

"well?"

"It's… It, ah, looks… legit."

"You have no idea what a fake birth certificate looks like, do you?" Butch asks before face-palming at Brick's nod.

Boomer grimaces "Ima is gonna murder you for this. This is the kind of stunt that's gonna get the team bad press."

Butch, always up for pissing off the higher-ups, shrugs; "If she's mine, then everyone's just gonna have to deal."

Brick removes his right hand from his temple; "Wait, wait, wait. Doesn't Buttercup have a sister? What was her name again, or was it a he…?"

"Yes, the younger sister! Your Aunt, do you know where she is? What's her name again?"

"Brute" The girl says plainly

"Yes, yes, Brute. Where is she?" Butch nods eagerly at the kid, now eye-level with her.

"Auntie Brute is in the military… she graduated from West Point years ago… I dunno where she is."

Butch runs a hand through his spiked locks; "that's right, Buttercup always did say Brute was gonna be a soldier"

"So… still gonna need that DNA test?" Brick asks

"Yes. Otherwise, they'll say Butch just picked her up from somewhere, and I'd like to call this a stunt but it's looking more and more like it's not." Boomer answers

Silence.

"Can I-

Butch is interrupted by three different ringtones.

"It's Ima" Brick says looking at the caller ID.

"Yep, It's Ima." Butch confirms

"Hello?"

"Press conference in an hour, Convention center. Be late and it'll come out of your salaries."

Boomer pouts as the call ends.

"Shit" Brick curses as his own cell ends the four-way call. Boomer and Brianna look at Brick who looks apologetic for cursing in front of the kid.

"Oh no… What about Brie?" Butch gestures to the kid sitting next to him on the semi-circle leather couch.

* * *

Brianna sits in the passenger seat in Butch's football helmet- there's no backseat in a customized butterfly car in dark green, after all.

"You need to start making up for those eight years you've missed, daddy. Twenty Questions. Let's get started, shall we?"

"Kid, now is not the time for an interrogation-

"One- what is your favorite color?"

"Green" he answers automatically

"Cool. But mine is lime green, like mommy's eyes."

Butch's right eye twitches once, did Brick just stick his tongue out at him? Oh, oh it's on. Brianna's eyes widen a bit when her father starts going slightly above the speed limit. Butch catches Boomer's face on the side mirror, the blonde has one eyebrow raised and a smirk before gaining on him. The silent race against his brothers doesn't deter his daughter;

"Two! What's your favorite thing to do?"

"Football" Butch answers before yelling; "Oh, come on!"

A car had just passed before him, making him permanently third in the unofficial race. THAT IS ILLEGAL, ASSWIPE\- the light isn't even yellow yet, damn.

"Three. I'm allergic to nuts, do you have any allergies?"

Butch, as if just remembering the existence of the other occupant in the car, blinks. It was common knowledge that the Johnson Brothers were allergic to nuts- did the girl know this beforehand or did she truly _not_ know this?

"My brothers and I are all allergic to nuts." he says carefully

"Four! What's your dog's name?"

"Oh, his name is Jojo. Like, Johnson but shorter."

* * *

"We're here. No more questions, just stay here and don't let anybody see y-

"No! One last question! What… What's the best thing that's ever happened to you?" She smiles at him

"Winning NFL games, duh. Now, stay here. Don't let anybody see you, alright?"

She watches him get out of the car, nodding to her Uncles, she pouts. As if she's gonna listen to him, though.

* * *

The little girl watches as the football players walk through the curtains- in her head she surmises that she's in some sort of backstage area, failing to spot the NFL trophy in the glass case.

Once the curtains are pulled and the trophy revealed, a lady with silver blonde hair screeches; "Who's kid is that?"

"D-daddy? ...uh oh..." A deer caught in headlights is how she looked. Trouble, he knew she was trouble, he knew, he damn well knew.

"Uh oh is right, kiddo"

The rest of the team gape in shock at the one who spoke.

"Butch? Tell me this is a joke."

Butch grins at Ima; "Nope. As it turns out, I have a kid. Y'see, my ex-wife, everybody knows about her right? Okay, good. And everybody knows we didn't end on good terms, right? Right. She hid her from me, my own daughter. I was deprived from spending eight years with my daughter, and suddenly, whoop- there she is. She just landed from a, ugh, right there in my doorstep. No warning from her whatsoever. Instant dad. Funny, that. On the morning after my party too, it's a mess on top of a mess. But, I mean, whatcha gonna do, right?"

Brick inwardly cringes at how badly his brother just handled the press.

Boomer, thank goodness for Boomer, steps in; "Of course, we're not sure that she's his kid just yet. We're gonna do a DNA test first, and if it's true, then as the letter instructs, Butch will have custody of Brianna for the month while her mother is gone."

"She's in Africa helping the sick!" Brie chirps happily

"You can trust, that once Buttercup is back, the matter regarding custody of Brie will be discussed thoroughly." Brick finishes

* * *

"What is this?" Blossom asks as she shoves the tablet on Brick's face.

Brick clutches his temples, lays back on his swivel chair. "I don't know, what is it?"

"It's an article judging our marriage. And who is this Brianna, huh?"

Brick groans. " _Oh My God_ , are you serious? I'm trying to find a way to decline Mister Morbucks' proposal and you're here on my ass for a kid? Butch's kid?"

Blossom makes a face but remains silent, waiting for further explanation.

"Here." Brick opens the Youtube app and searches for the NFL channel. Yup, it's still there. ' _New York Giants' Interview turns into Butch Johnson's big reveal'_

As soon as Blossom finishes watching, she pouts; "And what is he doing about it?"

"You mean, what am _I_ doing about it? Well, for starters, I got Butch to hire a DNA specialist. The results will come in a week, more or less. And then I got Boomer to pay a visit to West Point, so we can contact Buttercup's younger sister, wherever the fuck she may be. Finally, I have to get Ima off of our backs; this wasn't any of our faults, if anything, it was Buttercup's because she never said anything about having a kid with my stupid brother."

Blossom sighs, caresses Brick's tired face; "Come on, let's get you out of this office. Dinner and I will not be ignored for your shipping corporation."

Brick nods reluctantly.

* * *

"Bubbles… will you… will you go to my opening night? As my date, I mean?"

The blonde in his arms turns to look at him. "I… I dunno, Boomer… Do you think I should? What type of club is it, anyways?"

"I promise it's not sleazy. It's a dance club, with a dance floor, and I have this disco ball hidden in the ceiling. And there's a DJ booth, and a stage for open mic nights. It's clean, I promise, Brick even looked it over- it's legit."

Bubbles hums, "I'll go under one condition."

"Anything"

"We announce our relationship."

Boomer's eyes widen; "Are you sure? But didn't you sa-

"I know what I said. That was a year ago. I'm ready now, and I think it's also time I introduce you to my father…" Bubbles says, smiling as his eyes widen even more.

"W-what brought this on?"

"I guess… it's the kid-" Boomer gasps, Bubbles shakes her head, "Not ours, obviously. Brianna. I saw how you stepped up to defend Butch. I mean, he could've handled it better- even if it's not his fault he suddenly finds himself with a kid. And… your football team won daddy over when you won a few days ago. Amazing teamwork with your brothers, by the way."

"Okay… okay, cool. Uhm, when… when am I meeting him, your dad, I mean?"

"Dinner this Monday, okay? After your practice?"

Boomer nods nervously, "yeah, that's okay"

* * *

Bachelor's pad. This means one bedroom en-suite. No guest rooms.

Which is why Butch finds himself taking his Winter Blanket out from the closet and into the living room, along with two pillows he got from one of the unoccupied condos below his floor. Brie didn't like the thin blankets from there, claiming it would be itchy.

"Can you tell me a bedtime story, daddy?"

"First night here, and you're asking me for a bedtime story? What's next, gonna ask me to cook for you too? Sheesh."

Brie frowns at him.

"Fine, fine. Bedtime story…"

A few minutes later, the tables have turned with Brie telling the bedtime story and Butch having fallen asleep on the semi-circle couch. Brie pouts for a second, a little mad that he didn't listen to her story completely; but then she thinks that this means she can go explore the big place.

The three buildings are connected, but the fifteenth floor is just her father's suite. The whole floor- she thinks in amazement.

The left building; a game room with a tv smaller than the flat screen in the living room, a balcony, a jacuzzi in the balcony, a grill in the balcony, three guitars she can't identify, a computer system with three monitors, and a high shelf on the wall with CDs on them that she has no way of reaching- unless she pulls a stool from the kitchen, but no, that would take work.

The middle building; the living room, the elevator, the small kitchen, the minibar, the dining counter- cuz there's no table, the dusty storage room that could be a broom closet- if there was a broom but there isn't, and a stereo system.

The right building; the bedroom, a walk-in closet full of mirrors but not a lot of clothes, the master's bathroom with that giant bathtub she thinks she could drown in, a gym with a treadmill, a punching bag, some weights, and another TV. But where's the shower?

Brie sighs as she cuddles into the dark-green satin sheets of the King-sized bed. She's explored the place thoroughly, but it still doesn't feel like… like she belongs here. Like, there's something missing...

It just doesn't feel like home.

* * *

"Good morning, daddy!"

Butch snaps awake, instantly regretting it as the neck and back pain made their presence known. Then his eyes widen- classical music is playing in his house- CLASSICAL MUSIC IS PLAYING IN HIS HOUSE

His eyes look to the stereo system, only to spot his dog. His golden retriever dog, Jojo, who IS NOT so golden anymore, but purple. Fucking purple. "What the f- fudge cakes have you done to him? Why is he purple?"

"Don't worry, it's pet-safe. It wears off after the third bath."

Butch makes a horrified face. THIRD BATH? THIRD BATH? THIRD? BATH?

His right eye starts twitching, his fingers start curling, and the classical music suddenly changes to an awfully familiar song.

His eyes widen as the guitar plays, and his throat dries up, mouth closes as his bottom lip suddenly finds itself trapped between his front teeth.

The kid- his kid now, no doubt about it, suddenly lights up and starts singing;

" _On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair… Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air… Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim- I had to stop for the night…"_

Butch somehow finds it in him to murmur the lyrics to the song, " _There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell. And I was thinking to myself, This could be heaven or this could be Hell. Then she lit up a candle… and she showed me the way. There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say…"_

" _Welcome to the Hotel California…"_ She sings at him.

He realizes then and there- as that song played, he didn't need to wait for the DNA test to confirm what he already knows. If the song isn't a dead giveaway, then dark emerald orbs staring at him makes it obvious as they were a hauntingly exact replica of his own.

* * *

"How do you know that song?" Butch asks for curiosity's sake

"Momma plays it all the time."

"All the time, huh?"

"Mhmmm. She sings it too. I can't really dance to it, but it's our favorite song."

' _Yeah… ours'_

* * *

"First, you're gonna need lemon juice. Two eggs for protein. Banana slices, yum. A spoonful of honey- not sugar, never sugar, ever- and I mean that. Ice cubes. Close the blender…"

Brianna watches her father, amused- he refused to feed her anything other than crackers for breakfast. Said he was gonna give her a shake instead. This is not the shake she expected.

He pours the concoction into two glasses, but unfortunately still have some left. He places one to her side of the counter, she sniffs at it.

She makes a face; "Daddy… That smells really, really rotten."

"Kid, trust me, it's good for y-

Butch cuts himself off as Ima enters the living room, followed by women.

"Pick a nanny, Butch." She says as the women arranged themselves in the line.

"Huh… A'ight… that one."

"Eliza, you're up!"

Brianna internally cringes as the 'nanny' shrieks in excitement before coming up to her, face to face, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL- SPIT FLYING AND ALL, like a wild animal, telling her; "We're gonna be the best of friends! Like sisters!"

"You start on Monday." Ima says to Eliza before turning to Butch menacingly; "Today is Saturday, You have no practice scheduled, so I want you and your kid to be spotted in public. Take her for a walk in the park or something, she's a kid, she'll like that. Do not fuck this up, Johnson."

Butch rolls his eyes at Ima's retreating figure.

* * *

A walk in the park is exactly what they ended up doing.

"Bohemian Rhapsody."

"Nine over Ten"

"What? Nine! Are you serious? Are you serious right now? What?"

"Well, it's so jumbled, okay… And mommy says it's depressing. I think the song isn't telling a story."

"Oh kid, Bohemian Rhapsody tells a lot of stories, plenty to choose from- maybe you need to listen to it more. What about 'Life in the Fast Lane'?"

"Eight over Ten"

"WHAT? Are you serious- no, wait. Are you sure you're my kid? Do you even know the song I'm talkin' bout?"

"Hey, my momma had a rock band when she was young. I know my rock music, okay?"

Butch rolls his eyes, he'd hardly call a one-time talent show setup a rock band. "Pssshhh. What about… Stairway to Heaven?"

The kid proceeds to hum the first verse before answering; "Ten over Ten"

Butch makes an offended face.

"What? It's my personal favorite. Problem?" Brianna defends

Bytch just shakes his head, resuming the game; "Paradise City?"

"Solid nine"

"Ah, sheesh, you're hurtin' yer old man, here. Okay, okay, favorite rock band?"

"Queen"

"YES! YES! YES! YOU are definitely my kid. Definitely…" Butch stops walking, cherishing this moment wherein he finally found something to bond over with his kid. "Y'know… yer ma… Her favorite was AC/DC… until I convinced her that Queen was the shit, did you know?"

"No… she… she doesn't talk about you much."

"Oh" Butch's shoulders sag as he watches Brianna walk on the wooden bench like she was walking on a tightrope. "Is… is she… did she re-marry?"

"No. I don't think she ever will…" Brianna says this in such a sad tone that it grips on Butch's heartstrings. She then smiles and looks at her father; "She's too busy saving the world, helping everywhere. Did you know she and Grandpa went to Asia? And they went to this house with weird looking nuns that take care of… uhm… abnormal children? Momma doesn't like it when I use that word. She says they're just born special. I don't understand how a kid with a bloated head or a bloated tummy can be special, but I believe her."

Butch's lips are pursed in a thin line. "And what about you? Where'd she left you?"

"I was there with them. I help spoon the soup into the little baby's mouth. But the baby isn't a baby, it's just a small kid, like me, but can't walk cuz their bones are too small. It was fun; Grandpa did the laundry, Momma did the cooking, and I saw her change diapers for other kids too." Brie suddenly lights up, pointing, "Daddy look! Ice cream!"

"Oh no, no, no. Brie- lunch time means proper food, okay-

"But dad…"

Puppy dog eyes that could put Boomer's to shame made Butch sigh; "fine- but one scoop only, kiddo"

* * *

The next day- Sunday, Butch figured it would be fine if he decided to take Brie- his seven year old daughter, on Boomer's Nightclub's opening.

It was only fair to attend it, seeing as both of his brothers were there when he opened the gym, and when he renovated the building, making it the Johnson Condos. He and Boomer were there before that too, when Brick opened his Cruise and Shipping business.

The Johnson Brothers were brothers with a tight bond. And he just doesn't wanna miss meeting Boomer's first steady girlfriend of, now, over a year- apparently.

He steps out of his car then poses for some pictures before walking to the other side, opens the passenger seat, and escorts his daughter- all gentleman-like, out of the car.

It's, like, eight, okay? It's not bedtime yet.

* * *

"You forgot your daughter in the nightclub? At two in the fucking morning? What the actual fuck, Butch?" Brick is yelling at him through the phone.

"Calm down, Brick. At least he didn't try to take a girl home, God knows the press would be even more all over this shit if he did." Coming to his defense is Boomer.

Boomer, His favorite brother, bless him, seriously- the man could be a saint. This is why Butch never answers Brick's calls without putting Boomer on the line, especially if it's morning calls.

"Yeah, he managed not to think with his dick for one night. Congratulations."

"I can feel the sarcasm, no need to be s-

The doors to his living room slammed open, Ima walks in.

Ima bitingly says; "The practice grounds is swarmed with paps, thanks to you."

Butch puts his brothers on speaker phone; "Ima's here."

"Hey, Ima. Thanks for calling the practice off today, now I have more time to prepare for din-

"I had no choice, Boomer. There's too many paps, and they're bugging the shit out of Sara. She doesn't wanna see any players in her field today."

Silence.

If you thought Ima Bellum was scary, you've not yet met her older sister, Sara Bellum. The rich, quiet, powerful type that everyone knew of, but never really met- usually hidden behind thick sunglasses.

"This is gonna sound crazy, but what if we tackle this problem like football? Do a press conference just to address the issue?" Brick suggests

"That's gonna make it look like we care what they think-

Butch cuts Ima off. "And? Shouldn't we? The public people are our fans, we need their money, don't we?"

* * *

Butch and Brie come out of the building with matching shirts- well, maybe Brie looked like she was drowning in hers, just cuz it was her dad's old uniform, but hey, they were trying to go for the cute kid look.

"You got a station wagon, Ima?"

Ima laughs, that evil evil evil laugh that she does. "No, Butch. _You_ got a station wagon- a new addition to your collection of cars. This is coming out of your paycheck, by the way."

She gestures for Butch to come at the back. Butch's eyes widen when he sees the license plate, #1 DAD - and with three bumper stickers promoting Fatherly responsibilities. He cringes; "Oh God… is this seriously my life right now?"

"Your fault, I wouldn't have bought it this morning if my internet was any slower."

* * *

"Brianna, sweetie, come with me for a quick briefing, will you?" Ima asks as she gets out of the passenger seat.

Brianna huffs, expecting to get a scolding as she exits the backseat.

"Promise to behave, and I'll buy you an iPhone? The new model, you like that? All you have to do is say nothing during the press conference- nothing. Okay?"

"Momma says I'm not allowed to have touch-screen phones. They break easily."

"Yeah, well, you're not with your mommy right now, are you, you little b-

"Ima, let me handle this." Butch squats down to be eye-level with his kid. "This press conference is really important for my reputation, okay? Daddy's gonna need you to behave, as in, not say a thing. You can do that, right?"

She nods.

They start walking towards the backstage, Brianna speaks again; "I'll behave under one condition."

Butch raises an eyebrow.

"No nanny. Otherwise, I'll tell everyone you let me finish a bottle of Jack Daniels."

Butch's eyes widen. There weren't any Jack Daniels last night because it was a cocktail party, per Bubbles' request. Jack Daniels is his favorite whiskey too- everybody who read his Men's Magazine Interview knows that. He doubts Brie does, though.

* * *

One fired nanny later, and a displeased bunch of paps…

"Can I say something, please?" Brie asks

Butch covers the mic; "no, Brie, I think they hate me enough already"

As he releases his grip from the mic, Brie takes it and says;

"Hello everybody, I'm Brianna Johnson. My daddy didn't have a heads-up on this whole 'being a dad' thing, as you all know, Mommy handed me off to him the day I first meet him. But at least he didn't throw me out to be someone else's problem, he's trying to take care of me as best as he can, he really is. Like everything else in his life, he took me head on- Johnson motto, right? Strong and Ready. What I'm trying to say is… I'm not used to having a father yet, and I don't think he's used to having a daughter yet either. We're still adjusting to each other, and that's fine. Please understand that this is gonna take time, but even right now I can already tell you that Butch Johnson is the best rock and roll dad ever! I love you daddy!"

His eyes widen as his daughter jumps up off her seat to embrace him. He returns the hug immediately, a smile on his face upon seeing the amount of approval in the room.

"That was good, that was really really good."

"It's gonna cost you…"

* * *

"Where'd you get Strong and Ready anyways?"

"You left me with Uncle Brick last night, remember?"

"Ah, right"

"It's not like I can't see your bedroom ceiling either, it was written right there. _Fortis et Promptus_. Did you know you have a lot of posters of yourself in your side drawer, I also found these little packets-

"Okay, that's enough of your snooping in my bedroom."

* * *

 **Monday, After Brunch, Queens School of Ballet:**

crab decor. creepy crab decor. IT WAS EVERYWHERE

"Hellooo… How may I help yyyooouuu?" The man is gangly, with curly black hair, pink leg-warmers and red nail polish. Butch inwardly cringes.

"Uh, hi… Yeah, this is Brie, she's here for… this… So I guess I'll be back for a couple of hou-

"Ah, ah, ah. Class started fifteen minutes ago, young man. And the audition period days before. I'm afraid her application is late, therefore REJECTED."

"What? B-but I'm sure we can work something out, money is not an issue-

"I don't need your money. THIS is a professional ballet sch-

The guy pauses as he catches Brianna effortlessly following the routine, doing one very graceful turn before synchronizing with the rest of the girls into an arabesque.

"So… she knows Cinderella…"

"...doesn't everybody know Cinderella?" Butch asks dumbly

The instructor rolls his eyes; "The play, idiot. Tell you what, I'll see how well she does today and if she's consistently astounding, I'll accept. The registration office is down the hall."

* * *

"You… you don't know who I am?"

"Should I?"

"Johnson Brothers… y'know… I'm Butch Johnson. Football player."

The guy shrugs. "Doesn't ring a bell. Ah, but do you know who I am?"

"...no…"

"I happen to be The Great Him. Owner of several ballet schools in the very gay U.S. of A."

"Okay… so… is she accepted?"

"Pay the tuition fee by tomorrow."

"That's a yes. Come on, Brie! Home time!"

* * *

"A'ight, A'ight, A'ight. If Cooper shoots the next goal, you're playing as safety this playoff." Brick says

"And if it's not a three-pointer, or the ball doesn't make the hoop, you switch Butch to center." Mitch agrees

"Wait, what? No way, Mitchelson-

"Deal"

Butch sends Brick a scandalized look. "Some brother you a-

The basketball game suddenly switches to Animal Planet Channel. All three men look at Brie, she stares back at them innocently; "That was Jojo…"

Indeed, there on the floor, is Butch's dog nudging the automated remote with his snout.

When they return to the sports channel, their favored basketball team was already celebrating with no way to tell if Mitch or Brick won the bet. Groans from both men.

* * *

"So, you say you two have been dating for how long?"

"A year now, daddy." Bubbles answers

Her father is an old balding man with all of his hair turned white, and a beard to match. He wears square-rimmed glasses, and a simple purple button-up tucked inside the slacks.

"And what are your intentions with my only daughter?"

"I'll be honest with you, sir. I am at the point of our relationship in which, I don't know how my life is going to be without her in it. Frankly sir, I love her because she makes me feel like I'm someone- even without my brothers or my family name." Boomer states carefully.

The old man hums, "I see…"

* * *

Tuesday was the norm. Make breakfast shakes, drop Brie off to ballet school, go to the stadium for practice, have lunch with the team, practice, pick Brie up, dick around some in his suite- not literally- mind, order dinner, then fall asleep in the couch once more. Why?

Because Brianna keeps sleeping on his bed, and at this point in time he was half-sure that she was just faking it. Surely.

* * *

 **Wednesday, Football Practice;**

Brick enters the field, helmet in his right hand, and an envelope in the left.

"Is that-

"Did you open it?"

Brick shakes his head. "Figured you'd like to know first."

The team gives the Johnson brothers a wide berth, Butch sits in the bench and grabs a water bottle. He drinks half of its content before taking the envelope from Brick.

"this is it" Boomer stage whispers

Mitch and the others roll their eyes.

"Get on with it, man."

Upon opening the envelope, he is greeted by a white folded bond paper.

Butch shakes his head, holds it up to Brick. "I can't do it"

Boomer grabs it instead. "Brianna Jane Utonium is a 99.9% match of Butch Alexei Johnson. Ninety-nine point nine percent, dude! She's more yours than Buttercup!"

Brick backhands Boomer; "You idiot, that's not what that means… It means, Butch, that you really are her father."

"That's what I just said." Boomer murmurs

Butch reads the letter for himself.

99.9% MATCH.

Butch nods smiling.

* * *

"Hey, Brick… can I… can you pick up Brianna from her ballet and keep her at yours until tomorrow?"

Brick looks at Butch suspiciously before asking slowly; "Why?"

"I wanna renovate my suite. Build her a bedroom, y'know?"

"And you're gonna get that done in a day?"

"Ace and his boys are in town, man. Just got back from their casino project in Manhattan."

"Of course."

"But if I need more time, I'll ask Boomer to babysit the day after tomorrow. Don't tell Brianna about the surprise, okay?"

Brick gives him a deadpan look; "Dude. I'm not an idiot."

Butch smiles; "I know. Thanks."

"Anything for my niece."

* * *

"Oh my gosh, aren't you the cutest little girl!" Blossom coos

"hi" Brianna shyly waves her right hand

"Brianna, this is my beautiful wife and your Aunt Blossom. Blossom, this is Brie, Butch's daughter."

"And she has a pink tutu. Do you dance ballet?" Blossom asks

Brie smiles; "Uh huh. I just got finished with practice. Our play is Cinderella this month, but we're just gonna do the short version."

"She's here because her dad has a surprise for her, and it won't be ready until tomorrow or so. Is that… okay?" Brick asks Blossom

"Of course it's okay, honey." Blossom then turns to Brie; "you can call me Auntie, do you like cookies?"

Brick watches them go in the direction of the kitchen. A smile tugs at the corner of his lips as images of Blossom being motherly fill his mind.

* * *

The room keeps to the Slytherin theme of the suite but with touches of purple, lilac, and violet; And instead of a King sized bed exported from Switzerland, it was a 54-inch full bed exported from Switzerland.

Okay, so he was spoiling her a little. So what? Her new things include the mini-fridge and the 15-inch MacBook Pro and the 3 foot tall doll house and the 24-inch flat screen TV by her door and the 5 foot tall-

"Woah… this is a lot!"

Brie looks so small compared to her room, she had to take a couple more minutes to take it all in. Once she's done, she races to him, embracing his legs, burying her face on his hips.

And Butch feels complete.

Until she suddenly looks up at him; "You do remember that I'm only staying for a month, right, daddy?"

"We've got, like, four weeks left, kid."

"Three" she corrects

* * *

Butch tried, he really did.

And his brothers can't say he didn't.

They see him hurrying to pick Brianna up everyday, they see him taking the kid out for walks on the weekends, they see him trying to cook actual food- with carbs! And they know, they damn well know that he changed from party monster to protective father in the span of one month.

But time just…

It just flew by.

"Are we all ready?" Blossom asks as Brie enters the living room.

"Yup yup yup"

"Finally!" Boomer exclaims

"Boomer! Don't be mean." Bubbles berates before turning to coo over Brianna.

Brick looks at Butch, whispers; "So… when is she coming?"

By 'she' Brick meant Butch's ex wife.

"Sometime this weekend."

"She'll miss the performance."

Butch shrugs in an 'Oh well' manner.

"Handle it like a hand-off, my brother." Boomer suggests

Butch sighs, if that's the case, then this is one hand-off he doesn't wanna do.

An hour later, the Johnson Brothers along with two females watch in a captivated trance as Brianna plays a younger Cinderella, and then with a smooth transformation- behind a cute castle drawing, into one of the female mouses to the older Cinderella.

"She's really good." Blossom compliments

"This is why I've always wanted to be a ballerina." Bubbles murmurs

Butch beams proudly all throughout the performance.

* * *

Brick takes them out to Dinner to congratulate Brianna as well as to formally say goodbye to his niece.

"When is your mommy coming by to pick you up?" Blossom asks

"Surely you can come watch the play-off, right?" Brick asks too

"No... I have to get to the airport before she does- A- Auntie Bubbles, can I have some of that?"

Bubbles nods, oblivious to the slip-up as Boomer continues to talk her ear off.

Butch raises an eyebrow. "Get to the airport before, what?"

Brick squints suspiciously. "Finish your thought."

"Isn't Buttercup picking you up?" Butch asks

"What do you mean 'before she does', sweetie?" Blossom asks carefully

"Brie…"

"Ahahaha…" The seven year old girl is suddenly turning red in embarrassment.

"Did she tell you that she didn't wanna see me? What is it, Brie-

"No, that's not it… I'm talking about Auntie Brute, she's the one picking me up-

"But the papers said Brute is assigned in China-

"And Buttercup, are you sure she's in Africa?" Blossom pipes in- which confuses Butch.

"Brie! Oh no! Bubbles!" Boomer suddenly cries out.

The table, and the whole room in general turn their heads to an alarmed Boomer. Bubbles drops her fork, Brianna drops her fork, "Nuts!" Bubbles suddenly cries out.

"Oh shit-

"What-

"She's allergic to nuts, you idiot!" Brick screams at Bubbles- he forgot to announce that Bubbles ordered grilled squash with pecan nuts.

Boomer can't even try to defend Bubbles because he's frozen with dread- war flashbacks replaying in his mind as if it was him who just ate the nuts. Bubbles is crying with panicked eyes and offering Brianna some water. Everyone's eyes widen like dinner plates as Brianna is hacking, and coughing, and falling.

Brianna is red- red all over, everywhere now- not just her face, red splotches. RED. RED. RED.

Butch had seen this before, and Brick too, back when Boomer pigged out on some girl-scout cookies.

"Where's the nearest hospital?" Butch yells to the room

Brick answers with a "Three blocks away-

Butch immediately carries Brianna bridal-style, runs out of the restaurant all the while contemplating if he should take the car or…

"Fuck it."

The sun has already set, and he can't see anything past the image of his red-skinned daughter. So he runs. He runs like his life depended on it- because it does. God it does. He knows Brute and Buttercup would conspire to kill him, but also because he doesn't know how to live without Brianna- not anymore. These past few weeks, not once did he feel incomplete. He's not gonna let his daughter die- no fucking way.

* * *

A number of curse words and what if scenarios are floating in Butch's head as he watches Brick pacing, Boomer quietly seething, and Blossom and Bubbles holding hands.

"Father of Brianna Utonium?"

"It's Johnson!" Boomer cuts in angrily.

They all have a habit of turning angry when impatient- Boomer more so than Butch, and Butch more so than Brick.

The nurse turns to him, Butch steps towards the woman; "I'm the father, that was my brother. We were there when the… the accident happened."

"She hasn't woken up yet, you were very lucky to get her here not a moment too late. As it is, we figured this wouldn't have happened if she had an EpiPen-

"How much for it?"

"Less than a thousand, but she'll have to learn how to use them. Her allergy is very severe, and you're all very lucky she wasn't completely unconscious when brought in. Uhm, also, we've gotten her into a room, but as it's already past eight, visiting hours are over. You can come back tomorrow morning, the doctor is sure that she'll be up by then."

* * *

"Hey, boss man, where's your girl?" Arturo asks

"Hospital, Arturo."

"Oh… so it's true, you ran from Daniel Boulud's to Saint Martin's?"

Butch nods.

"Thought it was just fake news… Uhm, I have news for you too, boss man."

Butch pauses on his way to the elevator, turns to Arturo, "yeah?"

"There's a bella dama that came by. She… ah, well," Arturo gestured to the janitor mopping the floor.

' _It's almost midnight'_

"Bella dama made a muy gran escandalo. And uh, we need a new lamp. But ah, she's still up there. Black hair, green eyes, uhm… very angry. Like a bull, ay dios mio…"

Butch's eyes widen. Could it be Buttercup?

The dirt tracks lead him to the rooftop.

He's a little disappointed but dismisses it as he looks at the woman before him.

Combat boots, camouflage pants, leather jacket, and a buzzcut. Butch even glimpses the silver glint of a couple of ear piercings before she spins to look at him.

"Brute."

"Who else, asshole! Where the fuck is she? Where's Brianna? Did you honestly think you could get away with this? How did you even know about her, you creepy stalking piece of shit!"

Butch grunts in pain as he felt her punch him in the gut.

"Talk, shithead. Or else-

"Calm down, woman! I didn't do anything!"

"Didn't do anything? Didn't do anything is right! The internet fucking told me how stellar of a father you are, damn right you didn't do anything! Stupid fuck, is she just a publicity stunt for you?"

At this point, the military woman had already punched him about ten times- stomach, shoulder, arms, and the face was almost added to the list before he cried out;

"Brute, please! Lemme talk and I promise to tell you everything. Please. Please, Brute."

The little sister of his former wife huffs out air through her nose like a bull before nodding once.

* * *

"We're gonna have to ask her how the fuck she found you, then." Brute concludes

"I just can't believe Buttercup let Brianna ride the airplane alone- she's just seven isn't she?"

"Brianna is smart for her age, I just didn't think she's this troublesome. Dad was supposed to pick Brianna up from the airport. Then I had a three-month break, so I can take over for dad. Maybe Buttercup had Sylvia ride with Brianna or something- Sylvia never met our father before so she wouldn't know if Brianna just happened to call a cab and gave instructions to drop off at your condo." Brute sighs

"Your dad must be worried."

"Knowing him, he probably knows Brie's been with you the whole time."

"Who's Sylvia?"

"Buttercup's short-term assistant. Well, former."

"Oh. How's Buttercup, by the way?"

Brute frowns, looking Butch in the eyes; "Settling for her predicament. What else can she do?"

"For her predicament- what's that supposed to mean?"

"What, like you don't know?" Brute bitingly retorts

"No, I don't know. How could I know?"

"She has cancer, Butch. She's dying."

She's dying? She's DYING?

"no"

* * *

"I'm not stupid, Auntie Brute… I know my momma's dying… but for once, I just thought… _I thought if I could convince him_ \- I thought for once I could have a whole family, even for just a _tiny_ little while. I- I wanted to meet him, and I know momma misses him, still loves him, and I hope that he would wanna see her too. Please, please, _please_ let it happen, Auntie. _Please_."

Butch draws a quiet breath, Boomer the saint that he is, pulls him by the arm, dragging him back to that floor's waiting room.

"You can make any decision you want, Butch but let's tell Brick first." Boomer whispers

* * *

"Playoffs are tomorrow, Butch." Brick says

"I know. But Brute's taking her today."

"Buttercup is the same Buttercup Utonium that works for A.D.E.P.T. right? The charity that focuses on children?" Blossom asks

Butch swallows, he doesn't answer because he doesn't _know_ the answer. He knows next to nothing about his ex-wife, except...

Except the things Brianna told him...

"She's getting treatment in Seattle Washington Medical University. Apparently a kid that apprenticed under her father, Professor Utonium, is one of her doctors." Blossom continues

* * *

"I'm going." Butch tells Brute plainly as he enters Brianna's room.

"Hm?"

"I'm going with you. To Seattle, to see Buttercup."

Brianna's eyes widen.

"No, you aren't. Wha-

" _Brute._ Before Buttercup goes, I want to discuss the matter of supporting my daughter. This isn't for me." Butch gestures to himself, then to Brianna. "This is for her. _She's_ the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Brute nods; " _Fine_. But don't you dare force Buttercup to give you full custody."

* * *

Butch didn't think reality would crash and hit him full force until he's there.

He's there, he's present- physically present, yes.

But mentally? Not even close. In his mind he memorizes the white walls, white tiles, white noise and just the general ominous aura of the University Hospital.

He hasn't seen her yet, Buttercup, that is. But he can already feel the entirety of her presence- hear her heavy labored breathing, sense the radiation therapy, smell her scent in the room.

Brianna squeezes his hand, however tiny her hand is compared to his.

He hasn't said a word- not to Brute, not to Brianna, not to his brothers. He just booked a last-minute flight to Seattle, then they landed, Brute called an Uber, and next thing he knows, Brute dropped them off to the hospital.

Professor Utonium greets them in the lobby, then, in all his glory of being one of the University's esteemed Professor, knelt down to embrace Brianna with a total disregard of their public audience. The situation was _that_ dire.

Butch still hasn't said a word. Not one. Brute, during the whole travel time, mostly talked _at_ Brianna- not _to_ Brianna, but _at_ her.

Butch thinks Brianna caught on to his solemn mood, and decided that it's not a time to play twenty questions, or rate the rock music, or whatever else.

Boomer's text regarding his purple dog vaguely even registered in his mind today. All he can think of is…

 _Is he ready?_

* * *

She…

She's beautiful.

She's bald, with three tubes hooked in her body, her unblemished skin is much paler, and her wrists are certainly emphasizing how painfully thin she's gotten- but she's still so beautiful.

"Momma… I… I told him t-to come… Is- is that o-okay?" Brianna asks, her small voice is just breaking as tears suddenly start falling from her dark orbs.

Her raspy voice, "Baby… it's okay, don't cry. Shhh… shhh… It's okay." It's gotten more feminine, softer, _weaker._

"Brute… punched me… like, twenty times or something…" Butch says lamely

Buttercup laughs. A real genuine laugh. A familiar laugh. A sincere laugh. A hearty laugh.

A laugh he so missed, he outright collapses- on his knees, to the right side of her bed. Tears start to well up in his eyes, he inhales; "I am _so_ sorry, Buttercup."

She doesn't respond, her right hand- the one with the needle and the IV and the one closest to him, she offers it to him. He doesn't hesitate to interlock their fingers, putting the back of her palm to his neck where he cradles it like he would a baby. The IV tube hitting his cheek like an iceberg hitting the Titanic- it breaks him, and he doesn't know it yet.

Brianna is laying face-down on Buttercup's stomach, fully crying now.

There's something there, gripping his heart in his chest so tight that all the hair in his body stands in attention-

It's fear. He realizes it's fear-

Because he's scared, because he's really scared. _real. damned. bad._

* * *

"I'm Doctor Believe, how may I help you?"

"Believe? Like, Mike Believe?" Butch asks

"Ah yes, my younger brother, the football player. Seattle Seahawks, you're more than familiar with him, I think. Mister Butch Johnson, is it? What can I do for you?"

Butch collapses to his knees for the second time that day, he looks up at the man; "Buttercup Utonium. She's your patient. Please, tell me you can save her."

"Her condition isn't ideal. It's the second to the last stage of brain cancer…"

"Money isn't a problem, Doctor. I'll even do anything-

"I understand, sir. But there is-

Butch is laughing and crying like a mad man; "You understand? You think you understand? Hahaha, no you don't. Nobody understands! I can't lose her! I can't!"

Butch ends up pushing the Doctor to his chair. He wasn't laughing and crying anymore-

He was just bawling.

It was pathetic.

* * *

Here he is, having dinner with Buttercup on his second night at Seattle- he hasn't showered, and he knows neither has she. They both look a mess, her even more so as a nurse finishes spoon feeding her some broth.

"What do you want out of this, Butch?"

"At best? Shared custody."

"And at worse?"

"Child support, I guess. I… I can't imagine what you went through, all these years, raising her on your own…"

"Yeah well, I wasn't going back to you then, not when all we did was fight and scream and leave."

"The sex was good, right?"

The nurse hides a grimace- hastily exiting the room. Buttercup laughs; "God, you're horrible."

Butch shrugs. "Yeah, I'm still that guy with the horrible one-liners."

"And your brothers? Brie said she had two more Aunties now, apparently."

"Brick is married, yeah. Boomer might as well be, he actually celebrated their one-year anniversary weeks ago."

"Oh, don't think Brute didn't spare me the nightclub incident. You're lucky I convinced her not to tell dad. Basically she went online and got all the dirt, including your plight from Daniel Boulud's."

"Uh, yeah. Wasn't one of my better moments. Enough about me, what have you been up to?"

Buttercup shrugs; "whaddya wanna know?"

"What happened after you left?"

"I'll tell you a secret, but you can't be mad at me, okay?"

He nods. How could he be mad at her, anyways?

"I knew, before I signed the divorce papers… I already knew. And I thought, _'Will Butch Johnson make a good father?'_ I should've thought about it more, but I didn't. I was still mad at you for actually getting the papers, I was mad at myself for suggesting it, I was just mad and bitter and petty and I was obviously not thinking clearly. And then Daddy was going to Asia with some college kids, Brute was prepping for West Point, I didn't know what the fuck I'm going to do. Next thing I know, Uncle Eugene recruits me into his organization, I'm in China, sending Brute pictures of Brianna while I get to working as a social worker, and it went from there. After China, I went to England, then to Madagascar, then to Egypt, back to China with dad again, then Brianna to France where she picked up ballet, South Africa, Brazil, and that's when we found out that I… I had cancer. It was all too real, everything happened so fast that I couldn't… I was making decisions after decisions- all halfheartedly. I wasn't sure of anything, I felt like nothing was a safe choice… And I don't even know right now wh-

Butch's eyes widen as she suddenly goes from sitting up to laying down, her whole body is shaking, he drops his spoon, her right eye is blinking rapidly, saliva is gurgling out of her mouth- SHE'S CHOKING.

Butch turns her to her side, minding the IV.

She's shaking, and shaking, and shaking. He presses the button, and it takes a second before a nurse comes running in.

Her eyes are closed, the heart monitor is going crazy, _he_ is going crazy.

She's still shaking.

And Butch feels it again- the harsh unadulterated fear for one's mortality. _Except he's feeling it for her._

She makes him feel- but he's not ready to feel it. Not ready to feel these emotions.

He's not ready to mourn her in general. God knows, if he could turn back time, he would do it.

* * *

 **Several Weeks Later;**

The funeral was a quaint little affair. Everybody wore black, Butch didn't even mind that Brute abused his credit card to spend on Butch's tux and Brianna's whole outfit.

"So... What're you gonna do now, bro?" Boomer asks

"Go home, I guess."

"Is she comin' with you?"

Butch hums in affirmative; "Brute and Professor U could use some bonding time. Brute's got, like two more months left."

"Brick says Hi, by the way, and Jojo. Oh, uhm, we won the playoffs..."

"Yeah, I heard. Congrats, bro-

"Are you okay?"

Butch shrugs, but then remembers he's not on facetime; "I'm fine"

"That's good. Great, er... Sara and Ima aren't. Your fans can't believe you actually gave up Football."

"Yeah well, thought I'd invest more on the gym so... Besides, I wanna be there for Brianna."

"That's cool- okay bro, I support you."

"I'll talk to you soon."

The phone signals that the call has ended, Butch sighs deeply.

* * *

 _"Welcome to the Hotel California" Butch starts "Such a lovely place"_

 _"such a lovely place" She echoes_

 _"Such a lovely face..._

 _They livin' it up at the Hotel California_

 _What a nice surprise"_

 _"what a nice surprise"_

 _"bring your alibis" Butch sings_

 _"Think we'll ever get tired of that song?" Buttercup asks_

 _"Nah. Besides, I think the song fits... Listen..."_

 _It was quiet for a while, they were just laying there, in Butch's double bed._

 _It was almost to the end of the song when he opens his mouth again;_

 _"You can check out any time you like,_

 _But you can never leave..."_

 _Buttercup playfully slaps his shoulder._

 _"You're a real keeper, Butch."_

 _"I love you too, Buttercup."_


	2. Typical Love Story

**Title:** "Typical Love Story"

a.k.a. that disney shit

 **Summary:** In which Boomer and Buttercup star in a typical love story; Boy stalks girl, boy likes girl, girl doesn't like boy, boy courts girl, girl likes boy, and they live happily ever after.

 **Pairings:** Boomercup, Brickubbles, Blossutch

 **Warnings Include:** Mature language, mentions of sex and fetishes, some out-of-character-ness and some other things...

* * *

 _ **Act I: Watching**_

Boomer likes the auditorium. It's his secret sleeping sanctuary- perfect for school nights spent studying or procrastinating.

And... if there's a certain green eyed girl abusing her auditorium rights just as he does? Well, that's just a bonus, really.

Boomer smiles as her phone starts belting violin music, the classical and sad type that makes you really look at your life.

Unless you were looking at a Buttercup Utonium dancing in a black leotard, and ballet shoes. Definitely not a time to reflect on one's life choices.

The first time he saw her dance was a few days after junior year began. He skipped the period before lunch in favor of sleeping in the balcony of the auditorium- the AC is always on in there. He woke up when she was almost finished, and just before the five minute warning bell sounded to signal that lunch is just about over.

The second time was on purpose and the only time he ever almost got caught. The third was on pure luck.

Nowadays Boomer knew _exactly_ when she'll be using the auditorium- Buttercup shares at least two of his classes this semester and she always wears her leotard under her regular clothes (Shirt, shorts or some jeans, and her favorite black nikes). If she doesn't show up to practice during lunch, that only means she's going to practice after school. Boomer makes it a point to get detention sometimes just to have an excuse ready for his brothers.

Back then, Boomer also first mistook a leotard for a bathing suit and wondered why Buttercup isn't at the pool.

 _Gone._ Gone were the days of his naivety. Gone was his innocence the moment she first did that right leg lift- beautiful and graceful and completely artistic. He was utterly, completely and point blank _gone_ for her.

Boomer had a thing for playing the piano back then too, but he realized quickly that when it comes to Buttercup, violin meant good days, and piano meant very bad days. Of course, when Buttercup chooses to dance to something other than the violin or the piano, it meant she's either very happy, excited or angry.

The auditorium doors open and Boomer holds his breath, heart beating wildly in excitement.

"I really hope you get in, New York is gonna live for you!" Bubbles' voice echoes

"It's the only thing I've ever wanted."

Boomer frowns, reminded that he is running out of time to confess his crush on the green puff.

College meant individual choices, and it's not even close to December yet- Senior Year seriously just started!

Admittedly though, even Butch already decided on the gap-year path.

Maybe he should confess soon...

* * *

 _ **Act II: Insufficient Feelings**_

The Holiday Event is held in Citiesville, it's a charity hosted by the Townies Dance Company in support of orphaned children.

The dance is easy enough- basic really, and since it's a group dance, Buttercup isn't too nervous, knowing that she'll be at the back because of her height, thus not as eye catching.

Then, about a couple of seconds in, she feels it. The stare- the same stare that's been watching her for months now. Goosebumps appear on her skin, hair at the back of her neck stands in attention, and she's breathing in fear.

Whenever she dances at school, she would feel that damn stare. And she didn't care because maybe it's just a janitor or whatever. But now?

Whoever it is had the damn nerve to follow her _here_ , here? In the comfort of her dancing peers, here, in the middle of an event? _Here_ , seriously?

What the fuck?

Boomer?

She glares at him, raises an eyebrow, grits her teeth and he just smiles at her.

When the dance is over, she doesn't even bother retiring backstage. She hops off to the side of the stage, makes a beeline for the blue ruff, grabs him by the upper arm and drags him to the fire exit of the one-story building. She throws him into the wall, all confrontational and angry before yelling;

"What the fuck is your problem? What is wrong with you? Why are you stalking me? Why have you been watching me?"

And maybe some punches, kicks and insults were thrown in there too. But before she could leave, he grabs her hand from the dirty pavement.

"I like you, alright! I have a big fat fucking crush on you, and if you don't like me watching you dance, then I'm sorry and I'll stop."

She freezes, swallows audibly before deciding that the after party isn't worth attending. She flies off as fast as she can. Her instructor will get her bag back to her anyways, she thinks as she lands.

"Buttercup! How was the event?" Bubbles asks upon home base

Buttercup flinches when, in that moment, Bubbles' blonde and blue aesthetic reminds Buttercup of someone else instead of just Bubbles.

"It was fine... Boomer was there."

Buttercup doesn't know why she decides her sister could be privy to this information. Before Bubbles could ask any more, Buttercup floats off to their shared room in a daze.

Despite being counterparts, Boomer is really nothing like Bubbles at all. Boomer is in four of Blossom's advanced classes, as well as most sports- even sharing swim team with Buttercup. In fact, it seems it's Bubbles that Boomer has the least in common with.

In January, school picks up again, Buttercup, thankfully, already received the acceptance letter from Manhattan Institute of Dance. This meant she didn't have to practice in school anymore- ever. The Townies studio would have to do, even though the audience is really unnecessary. Who even had the idea to built a dance studio with glass walls and a coffee shop just less than ten feet away?

Within the second week, her eyes widen when she spots Boomer, facing sideways, drinking coffee with... Blossom?

What the fuck?

She almost face planted on the barre then and there.

* * *

 _ **Act III: Checkpoint**_

Sadie Hawkins. Of. Fucking. Course.

Why does God hate her? And the fact that the Principal assigned the Powerpuff girls for _both_ the opening and closing honors just meant a date is mandatory.

Fucking Hell. Football season really sucks.

Mitch is not an option- they're exes turned awkward friends. So, nope.

Butch is... Butch. Her mental state is already on the brink of insanity.

Mike? No- he's Bubbles' date.

Zack? No- Julie beat her to the punch.

Ace isn't an option, what with being a convict.

Brick? She'd rather not get involved with his Morbucks-drama.

Boomer? Well...

She isn't really comfortable with the idea but she knows he's a gentleman, so that's a point in his favor, at least.

Unless... he was already going with someone?

"Hey, Blossom! Who's your date to the dance?"

"Jarred, why?" Blossom answers without missing a beat.

"Uh, n- no reason..."

The next day, she appears next to his locker nonchalantly.

"Hey, Boomer."

He hums before turning to her as he closed his locker door.

"Do you have a date to the spring formal?"

He freezes, blushes, licks his lips, stares on the floor, stutters out an answer; "N-no. I don't..."

With a straight face, she tells him, "Good. Cuz you're taking me."

"O-okay"

She figures she should wear something blue. But it's really really really not her color. Nonetheless, she swallows her pride as she sits on the dresser wearing a midnight blue knee-length dress that has a train made of black tulle fabric that tickles her ankles. She's literally wearing nothing that isn't blue, and Bubbles is a little too fucking happy since she revealed to them at the last minute (literally) who she's going with.

Boomer arrives at her house just as Blossom finished using Buttercup's head as a pincushion with bobby pins. Nevertheless, the half-up half-down rose braid looks great.

And Boomer is wearing the stupidest lime green tux ever- even if she did realize that it's silk and expensive, it still looks stupid.

"Why didn't you wear blue?"

He answers her as if it was the most obvious thing. "Cuz I was going with you...? Uhm, yeah, we probably should'a tried to coordinate..."

Everybody is watching them, and she hated it. Not because she hated the attention, but because she only wanted _one_ pair of eyes looking at her and she couldn't even seem to get it.

He's retired into sitting on the bleachers while the dance continued inside the school.

"What's wrong with you, Boomer?" She asks

"Nothing..."

"Really? Nothing? Cuz you couldn't even look at me the whole night, that's not nothing. I even had to come here and remind you of the closing ceremony. Not cool, dude."

"Can you blame me? I feel very awkward around you right now, okay?"

"Why?"

Boomer makes a frustrated sound at the back of his throat. He huffs tiredly, like he just ran a hundred mile marathon before turning to look at her in the eyes. It's Buttercup's turn to get flustered as his blue, ocean blue, neon blue, dark blue orbs stare at her, into her eyes, her soul, her heart.

His blonde fringe hangs above his eye lids, _'like an angel or sumthin'_ she thinks. "Buttercup. I wasn't joking when I said I like you. I like you, like a lot-

"Then why didn't you tell me before I got the idea that you were some stalker watching me dance?"

"And if I did? What then? What would you do?"

Silence.

"Exactly. So why me? Why ask me to this stupid dance, huh?"

Buttercup swallows, then in a tiny voice so very unlike her, she says "Cuz I... I missed you watching me..."

"Y-you did?"

She nods once. But once is enough for Boomer. She thought he was gonna kiss her, but he didn't.

 _He didn't_

Instead, he's standing up and offering her his hand.

"Come on. Time for our second dance."

Right, this isn't Mitch or Butch or Mike or Zack or Ace or Brick. This is Boomer- and he's a gentleman, every girl in school knows this for a fact.

* * *

 _ **Act IV: Mission Accomplished**_

Valentines Day. As usual, Blossom gets the most valentines in the form of cards, chocolates, flowers, or teddy bears. Buttercup and Bubbles have an equally large amount of Valentine trinkets that came out of their lockers, but honestly at this point in time, Buttercup actually cared of getting one.

Not just any _one_ valentine, but y'know. One that came from him, the blue ruff.

They were not a thing (yet) as they so publicized it to the student body, but they're so friendly now that they might as well be!

Sure, Buttercup and Butch were like the trouble-making twins of terror in Townsville High when it comes to it. Even Buttercup and Brick were known Gamers Club legendary tag-team partners. But pair the other two puffs with any of the three ruffs- it can only _only_ end horribly.

"Hey, Buttercup, if you're gonna see Boomer today, tell him I hate his guts."

"What'd he do this time?"

Blossom pouts, "He rearranged our history project from Alphabetical to Chronological. It was supposed to be Alphabetical!"

"Sure, I'll tell him" Buttercup chuckles

Homeroom ends, and the class exits the room to first period. Buttercup gladly does so, as the first period is one she happens to share with all three ruffs.

"BC" Brick nods

"hey" Butch greets

Buttercup raises an eyebrow when she noticed that Boomer isn't in the room.

"Got any sweets?" Butch asks

Buttercup hands him the black plastic bag full of chocolates, "Don't eat it all." (her admirers learnt by now that she throws away the cards (after a skimming through them briefly), and just gives her sister whatever stuffed-toy she gets- it's the chocolates and the candies that she ever bothers to keep)

"Yeah, save some for me." Brick says

"Where's blue?"

"Oh... Oh right. I was supposed to give you this." Brick says presenting Buttercup with a card.

 _'Meet me in the auditorium as soon as you get this'_

"You know he's gonna do it, right?" Butch asks with a mouth full of chocolate and caramel.

"Do what?"

"Ask you out, idiot." Brick tsks at her, his superiority complex rearing it's ugly head again (it must be because of the holiday).

Buttercup swallows.

Butch explains further. "Don't worry, he's excused for the whole day. He got really sick yesterday, thinking of a valentine gift good enough for you, so Miss Bellum wrote him an excuse letter."

"He's not s'pose to come in, but he's in there. Pro'lly sleepin' or sumthin." Brick adds

Buttercup nods slowly.

She reasons that she didn't immediately sped off to meet him because the teacher was in the room already, so she can't anymore.

But now...

It's lunch time...

And she still hasn't gone. Actually, it looks like she's been avoiding it.

She mulls it over her head. She can't help but compare him to other guys.

For example; Mitch would never do something like this, Butch would not give her so much power over a choice, Mike doesn't even treat Bubbles this sweet, Zack would expect or demand he get his way, Ace would probably bug her into saying yes, Brick would-

"Give me the card if you're not ready. I'll tell him I forgot to give it to you-

"No no, I'm going now, actually." Buttercup says, then takes Brick's untouched lunch tray.

She balances hers and Brick's lunch trays on each hand as she makes the trek to the auditorium.

Indeed there was a sick Boomer burrito wrapped in a picnic blanket waiting for her on the stage. There's a picnic basket beside him.

"You don't know how many couples thought it'd be a good idea to hook up in this damn cold place." He tells her.

* * *

 _ **Act V: Honeymoon Phase**_

"I was gonna wait to tell you, but it looks like we're both gonna be in New York. I got a football scholarship, Buttercup!" He tells her before graduation day.

She leaps into his arms, and their lips connected. Both silently agreeing to have each other on the next chapter of their lives.

After graduation, they were able to buy a great flat together (not an infamously dreaded NY shoebox apartment), thanks to the Professor's, Mayor's and Miss Bellum's graduation gifts (money, and a car for each puff and ruff who dedicated a good few years of their lives saving the city).

It didn't take long before Buttercup and Boomer had taken the next step to their relationship.

Sex.

And since neither were virgins- the sex is really incomparable.

Sex with Boomer is not vanilla, it's nowhere near vanilla! (as she so discovered)

He's actually very dominant, and possessive, and has a thing for slaps. No role-playing though, neither really likes to prolong the inevitable. So no SM shit in their bedroom, no sub or dom crap, or whatever.

"What the fuck? Is this a whip? Is that a vibrator? The fuck is a knife doing here? Oh my god, condoms! This is your damn sex cabinet! Gross!" Butch immediately puts the whip into the cabinet before slamming it shut.

"I told you not to go snooping! What are you, five?" Boomer says in exasperation

"Alright, alright. I won't snoop. But your wifey asked me to come get you, lunch is ready."

"Yeah, yeah"

"But wait. What's with the knife?"

That particular object happened to be Buttercup's. While he has a thing for slapping people, she has a thing for cutting. It didn't really matter who or where it bleeds- so long as there's a cut.

Her favorite place to cut him up are his cheeks (the one on the face, pervert) that she claims is annoyingly supple. If not for the chemical X in his body, he's sure he'd have a line of scars there by now. Her favorite place to get cuts is her back, especially when he's deep inside her- she would clench so tight to hold his cock in a vice-like grip that it would lead to both their climaxes many a times.

"Forget I asked." Butch says

Boomer blinks innocently, smiles; "It's hers."

Butch groans. "Thank you, Boomer. I'll be sure to share that mental image with Brick, and Buttercup's sisters. Mayhaps they can share it to the lovely Professor as well."

Boomer rolls his eyes; "Can't use that on me anymore, bro. Me and Johnny-boy are on great terms now."

Butch looks at him, "Since when?"

"Since a few months ago. I told you I was spending a couple of weeks in Hawaii with Buttercup and her family."

"I can't believe this is real. This is like the reality that you're living in right now. You're like, bound to that girl, and you're still just a college freshie." Butch tells him with a strange look.

"So?"

* * *

 _ **Act VI: Cayote, Deers, and Bears**_

He's sure Bubbles didn't mean to. (she didn't, but that was the first time)

"I can't keep doing this, Bubbles. Whatever this is, kissing you, having dinner dates, accompanying you places. I love Buttercup, okay? And it sickens me that you would think I would jeopardize my relationship with her by sleeping with you, because then you're sorely mistaken."

But then the blue puff starts crying and he hesitates to get out of the car. (He forgets that his shirt is halfway unbuttoned, and his belt is in the floor of Bubbles' car)

"He's right... I am cayote ugly!"

"Who... who's right?"

"Mike... He... he left me. We broke up. I thought, I thought we were gonna be, like, happy, y'know. But then he was drinking, always drinking, and... and frat parties... I don't know what to do anymore, cuz he was hitting me. But they didn't hurt, but I'm hurt, and I... I broke up with him. And he said, Fine cuz he didn't wanna date someone so cayote ugly anyways... So I left him in L.A. And now I made you kiss me, like, four times and I knew I was forcing myself on you, and I'm really sorry cuz I knew it was wrong. I'm such an idiot..."

"You're still young, you'll find someone better. Someone who won't hit you, or drink, or call you ugly. Just not me, okay?"

Bubbles nods. "Let me take you back to Buttercup. I'm sure she's worried."

She (Buttercup) wasn't. (worried, that is)

"Look at this, look at this, look at this." Buttercup says angrily as she throws four plastic sticks at him.

Boomer, confused asks; "Uhm, what're they?"

"Positive pregnancy tests. They're certainly not mine. So if you're having an affair with someone, you better tell me-

"Those are mine... And... Mike is the father." Bubbles confesses upon entry.

Buttercup calls Blossom who flies in record time all the way from Massachusetts. Boomer steers Buttercup away to their room, she angrily asks him why, to which he responds in kind;

"Babe. Bubbles broke up with Mike because the man is an abusive drunkard. He hits Bubbles when he's drunk, and I'm also not sure if he doesn't when he's sober. You can't ask your sister to get back together with him, even if they do have a baby on the way."

Blossom and Buttercup are upset that Bubbles refused to share this fact with them. Blossom transforms suddenly into Momma (sister?) bear mode and shepherds Bubbles back to Townsville.

The next day, in the middle of the afternoon, Buttercup asks; "Hey boo... where's our favorite belt? I can't find it and I'm late for a club meeting."

Like a deer caught in headlights, Boomer's eyes widen significantly before making up the lamest excuse; "I left it in my gym locker?"

Buttercup buys it. "Huh. Okay. Whatever."

* * *

 _ **Act VII: Precious Gifts**_

"Boomer!"

"Ah! Where's the fire? Who's there? What's going... on?"

"Bubbles just gave birth. It's a girl, we gotta go! We gotta fly to Townsville now, now, now, boo!"

Boomer cringes. "Uhm, honey. We're literally on the other side of the country." He looks at the bedside clock, "And it's four fucking A.M. in the morning. What are you, insane?"

"But babeee... It's a baby! My baby sister's baby. Please?"

"No"

Buttercup whines. "Aw c'mon. You know your brothers would do the same if you got a child at a godsbedamned hour in the morning."

 _Hm?_ That future sounds promising...

"Okay, fine."

The child looked like Mike's alright. Light brown hair, and blue eyes. As much as they would like to pretend that the baby got Bubbles' eyes, it was way too cyan-ish to be Bubbles'.

"What're you gonna do with her?"

"Well, I'm gonna start studying Music in Italy, and that means I'm gonna take her with me, of course." Bubbles answers simply

Boomer looks at her and he no longer sees the young and confused Bubbles. In it's place is a certain young girl that knows exactly what she wants this time.

That's great, because Boomer also knows what he wants.

On Buttercup's birthday, he proposes. He made sure the timing was great, they had both finished their final exams and are well on their way to becoming college seniors.

* * *

 _ **Act VIII: Conclusion**_

When Bubbles gave birth, she didn't get a second special power. That's not the case with Buttercup.

"Do you want mommy to sing the song?"

A teary-eyed three year old nods. Buttercup puts her hand over their daughter's knee before singing; "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine..."

And voila. The scrapped knee is no-more.

Buttercup's new special power also comes handy in battle. You see, when all the puffs and two ruffs left for college, Butch got stuck protecting the city. When Bubbles got pregnant, Blossom helped Butch for a while, but now that Buttercup and Boomer have a family, they decided to settle in Townsville despite Boomer playing for the NY Giants.

"Can you sing the song, please?" Boomer pouts

Buttercup flicks his cheek. "Shut up" she says before laying her hand on his busted knee. She did this softly, of course.

An adjective that Boomer finds himself using more and more nowadays. Believe it or not, Buttercup is a stay-at-home wife who owns a ballet school for children and teaches yoga for all ages in the weekends.

Sometimes, Boomer thinks, is this the life she wants for herself, or is this the life she's living because it's what she's given? He thinks about Butch who's out there, exploring the world, working random jobs like a waiter in Paris, a trucker in Tokyo, a tour guide in Venice, or a clerk in Perth. Would Buttercup have wanted to travel the world too?

Then she would go and do something soft, like she is right now, with him, with their daughter- it's all surreal.

Maybe he's overthinking this. Maybe she's here, not because she has to but because she wants to...

* * *

 _ **Act IX: Brickubbles Bonus**_

Bubbles showed up with her own daughter, and surprisingly Brick was right behind her. While Millie and Swan (cuz it rhymes with cyan- their colors) walked off to the play room, Boomer asked why Brick was with them.

"So... you two are... what, dating?" Buttercup asks

Brick hums.

"You could say that." Bubbles answers

"She's your girlfriend." Brick nods "And he's your boyfriend." Bubbles' smile grows larger. Buttercup takes a step back; "Okay... uhm, whatever. I guess, make yourselves at home and uh, take care of my daughter."

"We'll be back before ten." Boomer says as he puts an arm around Buttercup

It was... a little weird. But, like, whatever.

* * *

 _ **Act X: Blossutch Bonus**_

"This is too weird." Butch murmurs

"isn't it?"

Butch looks at the one who said that. It was pinky- Blossom. He supposes it's time to call her by her name now that they're twice in-laws.

"Did you ever think maybe you'd be the one marrying Brick tonight?" Butch asks

Blossom shrugs. "Out of you three? I dunno, we're too alike, we don't talk about how we feel, we plan and we conquer. Unlike you and Buttercup who just explodes at everything, or Boomer and Bubbles that would actually talk it out."

"huh"

"Why? Did you have a thing for Buttercup too, like Boomer, I mean?"

"What? No, she's like a little sister I never wanted."

Blossom laughs at that. But then Butch suddenly takes her wrist; "Come on, let's show these dorks how to really hit the dance floor."


	3. yours is the world

**Title:** "yours is the world"

a.k.a. Big Buttercup Rules!

 **Summary:** He thought he was being clever. They thought it's a stupid idea. She thought- well, she didn't know what to think. Until she did, but it was the wrong idea. (very short oneshot)

 **Pairing/s:** Brickercup

 **Warnings Include:** Mature language, mentions killing major characters, monologuing, and some other things...

 **A/N:** Sorry for reposting, and the length of this chapter.

* * *

 _Good or Evil_

 _Good._

 _Evil._

Is there really such a thing as the gray area? The middle ground, as they so call it? If it is possible to be both good and evil, it would _probably_ be her.

She, you decide, is IT. Buttercup Utonium is the living and breathing proof of the fine line.

She walks in this gray area, this middle ground everyday, fights this internal conflict that makes her one and the other- you wait for it. Anticipate it, in fact. You know in your mind that she can't keep playing in the tight rope forever.

"Why do you keep doing this?"

"I would give you the world if you'd let me." You tell her- and it's true.

She grimaces. "I appreciate it, but this is stealing- it's illegal. And you know I'm going to return it anyways."

"Right after you use it though, right?"

She sighs, she knows you're right. She can never resist these things- in this case it's a car.

"I repeat. Why do you keep doing this?"

"Babe. You've gotta be real dense if you haven't figured it out yet."

"Yeah, well... I haven't." She sits on the hood of the _red_ sports car, crossing her arms in defeat.

You chuckle as you fly away- she'll figure it out soon.

You land in Mojo Jojo's laboratory. It's not a home, not your home, really. Your brothers question you because they don't understand- they think you're courting the green puff for a different reason. What other reason could you have?

You want her to stop playing the game, to pick the dark side. To wake up and open her eyes that she can be one of _the greatest_ villains to ever live.

You've thought of it plenty of times, What kind of evil would she be?

* * *

 _"Did you seriously think you were slowly turning me evil?"_

 _"I was thirteen and stupid, okay?"_

* * *

What kind of evil would she be?

She's not like you, she's someone who does things in the heat of the moment.

Case in point. It's her turn to patrol the city tonight, which is _precisely_ why you decided to ambush the Electronic Store clerk as he was locking up. Too bad you didn't expect to get caught- by a cop in a police car too.

"You can fly, go. _Go, Now._ " She hisses at you as she grabs the gadgets from your hands.

"thanks babe"

She rolls her eyes.

The next time you see her, she asks; "How exactly do you operate anyways? Do you just barge in and pray not to get caught?"

"Sometimes. You wan' a field demo or sumthin'?"

She thought you were joking, but you weren't. You show her first-hand how to rob stores in broad daylight before the police- or anyone calls the Powerpuff Hotline.

First step- select a store with the power circuit box.

Second step- select accomplices carefully.

Third step- kill the power of the store, and the surrounding areas if possible.

Fourth step- enter the fray, take a hostage.

Fourth step- get the money and the good, then get out.

Of course, there's a lot of other complexities to it. One of them is to never, under any circumstance, is anyone ever allowed to take off their balaclava until after home base. NEVER.

In her case, she shouldn't have taken it off until after your band of normy robbers had all gone.

"Buttercup?"

"I... I don't know you. I'm not B-

"Save it. The name's Bud Smith. You puffs sent my mother into asylum, and my father in jail for the rest of his life. I don't even know where my sister is cuz o' that. And now you're _working_ with a villain?"

"It's not what you think, Buddy"

You let her deal with him.

Wouldn't her reputation _just_ look SUPER FUCKING STELLAR if you try to defend her, though? _Ha._

you're evil, not petty

* * *

 _"Kudos for your persistence, tho. You didn't stop until you were, what, twenty?"_

 _"Cuz it was working."_

* * *

BLACKMAIL

The reason why she's pushed to the edge.

On the night of your most important triumph, she takes her first human life in the form of Bud Smith.

On the night of your most important triumph, Kingsley Morbucks is announced mayor.

On the night of your most important triumph, you spend your sixteenth birthday with her alongside Kingsley Morbucks' gift. What a damn fine motorbike too.

On the night of your most important triumph, she woke up.

She woke up and realizes something.

She kisses you.

And suddenly you understand what your brothers meant by _'different reason'_.

You chuckle and let her.

But then you didn't expect to become addicted to it. Addicted to her.

Her kisses, her touch, her worried looks, her genuine concern- eventually, it just became a thing for her to rob people blind with you. Consider it an accomplishment to make _The_ Buttercup Utonium concerned for you- wowza. Thank fucking Satan that nobody ever notices that in the three times the Powerpuffs actually _were_ successfully called in, the green puff is nowhere to be seen.

Nobody except your brothers. Ever the bane of your existence. Little shits.

See, it would've been fine IF they didn't bring this topic up WHILE Mojo Jojo was in the room.

And whadd'ya know, it turns out, the monkey has long been suspicious.

"You actually roped her in?"

"When were you gonna tell us?"

"What else do you plan to have her do?" Mojo asks upon discovery. "This is brilliant, my son. Absolutely brilliant. With one powerpuff girl on our side, we shall be unstoppable on our conquest to complete World Domination."

You roll your eyes, neither you nor Buttercup have any plans of outing her newfound hobby into the public eye. Originally- yeah, originally you didn't. But then time flies and suddenly she's into it.

Not her sisters, but you made sure to take care of it.

Quick and Painless. It's... merciful.

Something you wouldn't have even considered prior to turning Buttercup.

* * *

 _"Working? Ha! I thought you were supposed to be the smart one?"_

 _"I am the smart one. I'm ruling the world, aren't I?"_

 _"Yeah, by proxy. You gave it to me, remember?"_

 _"Ah, right. Of course. But I still conquered it."_

 _"Brick. Shut up."_

 _"Yes Ma'am, Big Buttercup, Ma'am."_

 _"Would you please not call me that?"_

 _"It_ was _a funny story."_

 _"We need to stop spending so much of our free-time with HIM."_

 _"I totally agree, babe."_

 _"Don't get any ideas."_


	4. Bite

**Title:** "Bite"

a.k.a. They got good teeth

 **Summary:** In which Butch is entranced by a new motor racer. But really, you should never bite off more than you can chew. There's all types of red flags and alarm bells, so either he's the type of white-boy who can handle himself, or he's just that stupidly arrogant. Spoiler: he stabs her.

 **Pairings:** Greens

 **Warnings Include:** Mature language, sex and some other things...

* * *

"Evenin' fellas. Got the bettin all settled?" Butch asks as he entered the booth.

Despite his better judgement, he doesn't close the door which implies that he's okay with them hot-boxing.

"Ace doesn't know who to bet for, boss."

"Is that why the race hasn't started yet? I could'a sworn I said I wanted a QUICK race. _What_ , Boomer not here or sumthin?"

"No, no. He's here... I just think he has competition, dats all." Ace speaks up, handing Butch a glass of wine.

"Then you'll bet money on my brother. You _know_ he doesn't lose."

"There's a chick that paid to join the race today. And bet good money on herself winnin'. Thing is, boss, I've heard of her before and legen' says she ain't never lost no race either." Ace explains

"How much and who?"

Snake gestures for Butch to come over to the windows of the booth. "Fifty grand. That's her, over there. They call her _Mange_." Snake says smoothly, index finger pointed on the glass.

Butch's eyebrows raises in interest. He's heard of the name, maybe once or twice. What he didn't know was that she's smokin' hot- like fucking HELL-LEVELS OF HOT; got that cupid's bow lips, curvy hourglass-esque body, firm-lookin' ass, a pair of supple lookin' breasts, her legs look the right length too. These are just normal things to notice, in _his_ case, of course.

Her most striking features are those bright lime-green orbs for eyes. Her black hair is styled in a side-swept buzz cut with a few strands reaching down to her left hip. Monroe piercing. Leather jacket. Black boots. Shredded skinnies. Mmmhhhmmm, a total trouble-making punk-rock babe.

She's smoking a cigarette while leaning on her motorbike, one of Boomer's usual runner-ups, Mitch, is talking to her. She replies by exhaling smoke straight into the guy's face in a painfully slow manner. She acts as if her smoking is a really intimate affair that everyone is privileged enough to witness. Butch decides he likes her- even if his own vices leans more towards drinking instead of smoking.

"You sayin' she never lost _any_ race?"

"Legen' dun say otherwise"

"Boomer don't ever lose neither, so I guess we'll see. Put me down for thirty grand on Boomer, and another thirty on the chick. Does Mister Kingsley know 'bout 'er?"

"Ah, Nah. Morbucks doesn't pay attention to these things, so he bet his usuals. Fifty grand on Boomer, Fifty grand on Mitchelson getting second and 'notha fifty on the Believe kid gettin' third. His daughter's here tho, bet her own tens on each o' the chicks in the runnin to place top ten." Snake answers

Butch looks at the lineup. He's known all the girl racers because he's paid them all once, personally. He's never slept with any of them, but then again, none of them were as beautiful as the buzzcut 'Mange' chick.

Robin Snyder who's always _always_ updated and riding the latest models of Ducati is a brunette girl born into an upper middle-class family. She's got an uncle who handles the underground trading circuit, which leads to her side-hustle as a jewelry thief disguised as a clerk- nobody notices one gem missing here, a loose diamond there. Her nine-to-five is a desk job, but while Boomer cared enough to know the details, Butch did not.

Julie Smith who races purely to beat her older brother, Bud Smith, is a blonde and blue-eyed girl. Both teens riding a respectable Honda Super Blackbird. While Bud Smith is fairly tall and muscled, Julie is fairly wide and proportioned. She's the one set to inheriting their father's toy company since her brother is, to put it bluntly, a knuckle-head.

Kim Fletcher, an Asian-European mix who's almost always in the top five riding another Honda. Butch saw her around Beacon Hill Institute once, she ignored him like she didn't know him but then again she was probably busy pushing her friend who was in a wheelchair. Further research tells him that she's an orphan with an older brother in jail for money laundering. This is probably why she's not a bettor.

(Butch is not in any position to help. Brick could, but he doesn't know how. Boomer wants to, but with his reckless reputation with the police, no dice.)

And finally Berserk, a girl who, to this day, Butch believes to be Brick's long lost twin or something; Given that they have the same shade of burnt hazel eyes, and length of ginger hair. The girl always enters as Berserk, without a last name which is smart compared to the others seeing as there were plenty of times the cops had tried to raid Butch's place of business. Keyword being 'tried'.

"Let's get this show a'runnin."

* * *

The route is simple, five laps from the Abandoned Arena going through Westside, left to Eastside, then all the way in the town outskirts back to the Arena and so on.

Boomer's done this route plenty of times, he's even gone through this backwards, and sometimes in other races, uses half of this route to meet the finish line in Beacon Hills. For this race, it's a lap, which means a circle- five of it.

So how the fuck did he end up second? Where the hell did it go wrong? The blonde brother's harsh glare is directed towards the jumbotron, a video playing on loop showcasing his first lose in years. YEARS!

"Tough break, man. It's cool, though. You got another race tomorrow, which is Saturday. Open Lanes Night. Plenty of rookies lookin' to get their asses handed to 'em..."

Boomer scrunches his eyebrows, "Now, wait a minute. You're a bit _too_ damn fine with me losing tonight, brother. Did you bet money on that chick?"

His brother looks sheepish before shrugging and saying, "That, _aaand_ Morbucks just lost himself a hundred and fifty grand. You know how he likes to bet on his top three."

Boomer punches Butch on the arm. Butch surrenders an envelope to Boomer, the blonde snatches it before opening it harshly. The wad of cash in the envelope is significantly thinner than what he's used to. Is this what it felt like to lose?

* * *

Butch approaches the girl, Ace is just about done with handing the racers their rewards before finishing up his rounds with the winner.

"Congratulations on winning, what's your bike's brand?"

"Vmax, custom made." She answers plainly

Butch whistles, impressed. "Nice... real nice." He attempts to take a closer look at the bike when she suddenly plants her right foot on his hip.

"I didn't say you're _allowed_ to touch it."

"I was only lookin', lady. I'm the owner o' this joint, after all. If you wanna keep racin' in my city, I gotta make sure your ride's not gonna bring you harm, or me." Butch tells her, taking another look but knowing full well that there isn't a license plate. The close inspection of the bike clues Butch in on something; "You made this bike? Looks like you really like racin'."

She nods, "Made it with my father. He's long dead now, used to race with cars. I still have his favorite one but can't use it cuz I don't know 'nuff about cars. The Fixin' nor the Drivin' part."

Butch was about to respond when Ace arrives, handing the thick white envelope to 'Mange'.

"You comin' to race again tomorrow?" Ace asks

Mange shrugs.

"You should, lady. Racer's entrance fee is just a hundred dollars every Saturday." Butch advertises

"Clever."

"So you'll come?"

"I guess. Can't really come back to New York for a while, so yeah..." She laughs before hopping into her bike and going.

Butch and Ace stare at her silhouette long after the arena's crowd have dispersed.

* * *

After getting home at two in the morning on a Saturday, Butch sends Brick a message about the 'Mange' chick- because she mentioned how she can't really come back to New York. Butch then falls asleep, dreaming of bright lime-green eyes glaring at him- territorial but teasing.

With nothing to do, and a pissed Boomer to avoid in their gym's penthouse, Brick eventually got around to doing a full background check on this new girl.

Brick slaps Butch awake with a one-inch thick folder. Butch shots up; "What the fuck?"

"It's noon, asshat. You're lucky it's my day off- and I've got the intel you've asked for."

"Great-

"I'm taking a grand out of your safe as compensation for my sleep."

"Just give me the damn file already, and leave me alone!"

His older brother fixes him with his signature blank stare. Brick lets go of the file, proceeds to walk towards the door, then looks over his shoulder, says; "I'd keep my distance with that chick if I were you, little brother."

Butch rolls his eyes before settling to open the folder and start reading.

By the time he's finished, he starts listing off the things he's learned.

One; the girl is an accused murderer- no, not just murder but _manslaughter_. She's supposedly involved in killing seven people in her own apartment building while seriously injuring two others.

Two; the girl isn't a registered voter. Or recorded to have any legal job ever. Even her real name is unknown. And there's no hospital records either.

Three; the girl is in contact with a couple of paper pungies- not the cheap ones either. Which means she's really trying hard to hide her real name.

Four; the girl has no online presence. But she has a good hold on the gun trade and drug trade in almost half of the fifty states of America.

Butch is a little infuriated by that, literally no one with that good a reputation could fly under his radar. He thinks about his older brother and figures if he's a little insulted, he could only imagine how Brick must've felt discovering there's someone he can't keep tabs on.

But then again, Brick did say 'keep distance'.

Butch looks at the name of Mange's paper pungi.

* * *

"Hello, is this Doctor De Lisle?"

"This is he. Who-

"Doctor De Lisle, I'm here to inquire about your client. A woman known as Mange, black hair, strikingly bright green eyes, very sexy. How much can I buy information out of you?"

Audible swallow. "I- I'm v-very sorry, sir. But you have the wrong number, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a cardiologist-

"Listen here buddy. I know all about your sideline as a document forager. If I expose you, what do you think is gonna happen? Huh? Your business is gonna get shut down, a legal shit-storm, you could go to jail... Need I go on?"

Inhale, Exhale. "Yes, fine. I know who you're speaking of. Mange has been my client for close to ten years now. She's always asked to put the same first name and same age, under a passport, a birth certificate and driving license. I don't question anything, she just pays and that's it."

"Uh huh, and what details are put in?"

"That's under client confidentiality. I-

"Tell me, I'll give you twenty grand. _And_ I won't exploit you."

"Buttercup, but always a different last name. At first she asked me to put in twenty-four for her age, but then for the last seven years she just asks to put twenty-five. She says she's born in Townsville, Massachusetts- which is believable, I suppose..."

Butch is silent for the longest time before finally speaking again, "Townsville huh, nice doin' business witcha doc"

* * *

If there's one other thing Butch hated about Open Lanes night, aside from the discounted racers' fee, is the fact that there's too damn many people in the Arena. It's crowded enough to look like there's a gathering of bikers, there's even a fire pit held up by a wooden post.

He's on the verge of yelling that it's an _abandoned_ arena, which means it isn't very well-kept. No way is Butch going to spend money on a place he doesn't technically own, neither is he going to hire professional people to clean up the place.

Thus why he spots Arturo with a half-full trash bag, albeit trying to pickpocket some frat kid's phone. He whistles in the short man's direction, gesturing that he wanted a word.

"Who're the racers tonight?"

"Boomer's here. Mitch. No Mike tho, Boss. Bud Smith and his sister. Joey, the twins, Harry. One of the Amoeba cousins showed up. Ace is in there too, he's got a bet going with a bunch of kids from Fisher College. And we got the suppressed catholic students buyin' and sellin' behind the giant TV."

"Who's manning the booth?"

"Snake, Joey's on probe duty, and Johnny's collectin' the bets as usual. No Morbucks but his daughter is here for her second time."

"No Mange?"

Arturo shrugs. "Ask Snake."

* * *

The next day, a Sunday, Butch is eating brunch with Brick when Boomer conveniently turns up the TV volume from the living room.

"A male of age nineteen is found dead behind the Cantina Diner, the male is identified as a student of Advent High School named Anthony Parker. The parents claim he was supposedly staying at a friend's house to work on a project. The friends then claim that Anthony Parker never met up with them. Anthony Parker is found without his phone, and an empty wallet. Autopsy found traces of antidepressant drugs, no finger-prints are found in the wallet aside from Anthony's own, his cause of death is blood-loss from a cut at the left side of his upper neck down to the middle."

Brick and Butch share a look.

"I could'a sworn, Mange wasn't there last night."

"Cantina Diner? Those folks know you hold the fucking hunger games every Saturday night-

"I'll take care of it, I'll pay them a visit-

"Now. Let's pay them a visit _now_. They can fucking sing, if they do, we're all dead."

"Woah, hey, what's going on here?" Boomer asks interrupting as he grabs Butch's orange juice, drinking what's left of it.

"Put some pants on, Boomer. We're leaving."

* * *

The CCTV's of the Ricci family thankfully didn't catch anything pointing to the Arena, but instead the Jojo brothers saw the same thing the cops did when they came by that morning. Anthony Parker's body being haphazardly thrown into the dumpster by a hooded figure with a bloody smile. Something Butch never forgets is the skin color of the figure- a rosy porcelain compared to the shock of red blood on the figure's hands.

Other people might assume the figure is a gangly white man but not Brick. The oldest Jojo brother never personally met the girl before but a gut feeling tells him that it's Mange. He doesn't have any proof but he is a detective, at the same time, on his way to becoming a criminal attorney- so of course he's learned to trust his gut most of the time.

After explaining to Boomer and showing their baby brother the folder, Brick decides it's best if he takes a one-week leave from work so he can accompany his brothers to their midnight motor racing event. Also because school maybe needs more of his attention.

Unfortunately, or Fortunately, that Sunday night, Mange did show up. Not as a racer, but as a bettor. Twenty-five grand on Boomer, Twenty-five grand on Mitch getting second, and another Twenty-five grand on Robin Snyder getting third. At first, Butch scoffed at this while Brick remained silent as he watched from the booth. At the end of the night, all of Mange's bets are spot-on, attributed to the fact that Mike was too distracted by his new girlfriend to get third place.

* * *

Just as Butch was giving away the top-three's rewards, Mange approaches Mitch Michelson, lit cigarette at hand and Johnny staring after her. Butch notices Boomer stiffening, both the hairs on their arms rising to attention. Mange does the unexpected and hops on Mitch's bike with Mitch hopping right behind her.

"H-hey, where are you two goin?" Boomer asks nervously

"We're gonna fix her dad's car. It's in Townsville." Mitch answers

"Really? Maybe we can help?" Butch suggests, pointing to him and Boomer.

"It's a ninety minute drive, you sure blondie's got enough gas?" Mange asks

Boomer scoffs, "It's just Townsville. We've been there before and back, plenty."

Mange just smirks. "ride on"

* * *

Butch looks at Mitch, both of them playing passenger to the careless speed demons. Butch really prays Brick isn't pissed once he and Boomer gets home- _if_ they get home. Though the possibility of that happening is a little slimmer now, seeing as Mange just stopped in front of a really haunted-looking house.

Ghost house, really.

Boomer grimaces.

"Ugly house, isn't it?" Mange asks Boomer

"I wouldn't say that... could do with some re-painting, though. It's really... the iron-wrought fence is a nice... well, the windows-

"It's shit. And just as abandoned as your arena. But it's home, so." Mange shrugs, pulls out a necklace with a key on it, proceeding to unlock the gate.

"You have wifi here, right?" Mitch asks

"I have Netflix- of course I do."

"so where's the car?" Boomer asks

As Mange leads them through the haunted mansion-house, Butch calls Brick on face-time.

After Butch finished explaining the situation to Brick- subtly hinting that they had to come to make sure Mitch isn't killed, Butch turns the screen towards the others with Brick spotting Boomer, Mitch, Mange and the car.

"Damn! Is that a real 288 GTO?" Brick asks

"Yeah. Daddy's last car, and his favorite Ferrari." Mange answers

"Those motorbike idiots won't do that car justice. Let me fix it, Mange. Just give me your address and I'm there." Brick tells her

Butch pretends to be a little annoyed but is really relieved. Aside from being the best at cars, Brick is also a combination of Boomer's speed, Butch's strength and his own quick thinking. He's the only brother who didn't drop out of college, after all.

"You guys are doin' this for free, right?" Mange asks after Butch gives her Brick's number.

"I could do with some food-

Mitch cuts Boomer off. "It's three in the goddamn morning, Boomer."

"point being?"

"What _ever_ you guys, you can work on the car, I'll be in the kitchen. Come in when you're d-

"Wait, Mange. The text?"

"Oh... oh wait, sorry. New phone." Mange laughs

* * *

Brick arrives with Butch's black bulletproof escalade. All three brothers are silently thankful for Butch's paranoia that lead to the purchase of said car. Mitch opens the gate to let the ginger in, Mange walks out;

"Sweet ride, red."

"It's Butch's." Brick says nodding to Butch. "I loaded the back with a bunch of spare parts, just in case."

"Oh you did? you guys are awesome!"

"That's the Jojo brothers." Mitch says dismissively

"Aw, Mitchie. Are you jealous?" Mange asks

"Ew no, I actually have decent parents compared to these three."

Mange raises an eyebrow at that.

"Enough talk, let's get to work." Butch declares

"Hey, wait. Why Mange?" Brick asks as he opens the car.

Mange whistles at the interior before answering Brick; "Cuz why not?"

"But what's your real name?"

"It's super stupid. But since you're the main man 'bout to fix my father's car, I'll tell you." Mange goes up on her tiptoes to whisper, "Buttercup Utonium." then stands back. "Don't go wearin' it out, yeah?"

Butch and Mitch watch on in jealousy.

Brick smiles, nods once, "Yeah. By the way, Name's Brick. I'm the oldest Jojo brother. That's Butch, and our _baby_ brother, Boomer."

"Oi! I'm not a fuckin' baby. We're triplets." Boomer clarifies

"But they're literally nothing alike." Mitch adds

"Except for our handsome good looks, of course." Butch comments

* * *

After two hours and a half, Brick finally got the engine to start without emitting a puff of black smoke into anyone's face.

Mange leans into the door frame, the smell of pancakes and bacon filtering into the garage.

"Hey! You guys got it workin', now who's gonna teach me how to drive?"

"Me!" Butch and Mitch exclaim

"I can't drive cars." Boomer admits

"I have work, but I can get you a learner's permit?" Brick says

Mange shrugs, "I made banana and blueberry pancakes. And of course, there's bacon, because what person doesn't have bacon in their house, right?"

"right" Butch and Mitch agrees

Mange rolls her eyes.

* * *

After the four young adult males have devoured their breakfast, Mange serves them some orange juice.

"A toast, to life."

"To life!"

It's easier to fake a sip than to fake a bite, thus seconds after all males had their first sip their eyes shut close and their glasses released from their grips. Mange laughs.

A drop of liquid ecstasy on the blueberry batter, and she intentionally made less banana pancakes but she did eat one blueberry pancake because of the suspicious redhead. It's literally screaming _'trap'_ all over it, she did also think of cooking the bacon with a douse of chloroform but that's overkill. So she just used it on the juice instead.

Now, to start with her original target, Mitch.

* * *

Butch wakes up, hands tied together, feet tied together, a gag on his mouth. He suddenly stiffens, "Brick? Boomer?" but due to the gag, it just comes out muffled. Butch doesn't know when he's developed it but he's so grateful for kidnappers being predictable and continuously using chloroform. If this means anything, this should mean that Boomer could possibly be awake too.

Butch is sweating, he's nervous, and suddenly he hears footsteps. Dainty ones.

It's her, Mange, but splattered in blood, and wearing a lime-green lingerie set with a tulle cape of the same color. Her hair is tied in a braid, making it look like she doesn't have a side-swept buzz cut, and she's barefoot. It's dark in the room he's in, but the hallway she's in is lighted, he fakes sleep- thinking she'll untie him before she kills him.

She doesn't buy it. "Cut the crap, Butch, I know you're awake. But y'know, for a Boston boy, you're one o' the good ones."

She then takes him by surprise by effortlessly hurtling him over her shoulder. Throughout her short trek, Butch gathers that they're in the second floor of the mansion, then suddenly she throws him into a King-sized bed.

It has red velvet curtains, made of oak, black linings, gold details- let's just say it looks like something out of the Elizabethan era. That doesn't matter right now though because the mattress is covered in blood. Butch turns his head to the right only to regret it as he finds Mitch's body on the carpeted floor. Now he knows the benefits of having a red carpet.

"Let's hope you don't squirm too much, I'd hate to get your blood everywhere... Any last words?"

"W-wait! You're going to kill me? w-

Despite the gag, she seems to have understand him. "Oh my gosh, of course I'm going to kill you-

"but why?" Butch asks

"Let's just say that I have to."

"Mange. Can I at least have one final request?"

She rolls her eyes. She didn't say no immediately so Butch takes that as a 'go ahead'. "I won't squirm. I won't run. I won't even try to find my brothers. You could kill me without any hassle... but please... please don't let me die a... a virgin."

Okay, that's a totally crap lie. But what else is he gonna say to, like, distract her and get her to untie him? Hello?

"Are you serious? _You're_ a virgin? _You_?" The sharp black nail on her index finger feels like it could puncture a hole into his skin, he chooses to focus.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, have you seen my older brother? Literally everybody thinks he's the golden child and I'm the useless goth kid. That, or they'd rather go with Boomer- the living and breathing Ken doll."

Her face scrunches, "You're lucky I can't read minds."

"So... uhm, we'll do it?"

She lets out a hearty laugh. "Why not? Been weeks since I got a decent lay anyways. Pull anything, and I _will_ kill you on the spot."

He nods, believing her wholeheartedly.

She takes out the gag from his mouth, and then in a split second his left hand is tied in the upper-left bed post. This makes him notice the bloody knife all the way on the other side of the bedside table. He won't be able to reach it with his left hand, obviously, but with his right? It would be so easy.

She straddles him, says "Eyes on me, baby-boy" then proceeds to untie his legs with her right hand, not taking her eyes off of him. She notices that they're both green eyed, his own are just darker and probably doesn't seemingly glow in the dark like hers does.

Butch decides he can't not tap this. I mean, she's a hot girl. And at least he's going to die happy, right? Oh man, this is seriously fucked up. He shouldn't die, he can't.

But then she's kissing him, and she smells really really good. Like flowers or some shit- even though there's Mitch's blood drying on her skin... it's kinda... uhm, erotic.

Going with it, he starts massaging her left breast with his right hand going under the garment, and his thumb rubbing over the nipple. She bites his lip hard, drawing blood- it turns him on just as much as it does her, and oddly enough it's done bleeding after she sucks on it a couple of times. He feels a quick brush from his collar down to his hip, realizes it's similar to the feeling of a barber running a razor above your neck. Before he knows it, his shirt is horizontally ripped and she's licking his collarbone while undoing his belt.

His right hand then goes to cup her ass just as she frees his semi from the confines of his pants and underwear in one tug. Butch moves his legs to tug them completely off of him. She returns to kissing him, and after a couple of seconds he wraps his right arm on her waist before turning on his left side so he can be on top, straddling her.

"You're really hot." He says before untying the knot on her bra with his teeth. This gives him a brief taste of Mitch's blood- he tries not to think about that though.

He then proceeds to attach his mouth on her right nipple, painfully aware of his semi-hard cock growing in size between her thighs.

"And you're a horny liar."

He chuckles deeply while still in process of devouring her right tit, she moans hotly.

"I get what I want." He replies, breathing her way, before quickly grabbing the knife and cutting the rope. To his surprise, the rope gives in after just one swipe. She knocks the knife out of his hand, but then he pins her wrists above her head before he licks her left cheek. "Don't worry, babe, I ain't goin' nowhere just yet." _'At least not until you're dead, my brothers found, and the cops called on your psycho-ass.'_

He quickly lets her left wrist go as his right hand undoes her underwear's knot. This is honestly his favorite lingerie- easy to undo, classy but teasing, green in color. His index and thumb finds her clit, and he pinches it before sitting up, letting go of her right wrist as he manhandles her thighs and positions her legs on his arms.

She watches him lick his lips in glee before diving forwards and licking her folds. Compared to him, her temperature is all levels of cold, thus the experience is much more heated for her. His enthusiastic tongue thrusting in and out proves that he's done this before- _'virgin who? yeah right'_

She's moaning wantonly in a matter of seconds but before she can even reach peak, he pulls away.

"b-baby-boy"

" _I am no baby, lady_." He retorts

She pouts, he smirks as he grabs his now fully-hard and large cock. He releases his hold on her left thigh to put his member in line with her entrance- putting the tip in, he notices that her walls are tight and cold, instead of tight and warm. He dismisses it due to the cold eerie temperature of the room. He also dismisses how fucked up this is.

He takes control, pushing in, both of them moaning from the complete penetration.

She grabs his arms, digging her nails on them as she pulls him forwards.

He remembers that she's strong, so if he's going to kill her, he'll have to wait for the right moment- that's doable.

* * *

"fuck, ah, right there, augh!"

Boomer makes a disgusted face. Is this for real? The blonde brother doesn't miss the blood drippings on the wooden hallway, luckily the door is open, so he can probably move and worm his way out of the room- but then what? How can he possibly get himself untied without alerting Mange?

He's startled when his back suddenly hits something. He worms his head around to see that it's an outline of another person.

* * *

After they both climax, Butch turns and purposefully falls onto the carpeted floor, grabbing the knife and standing up. He aims the knife and buries it on her heart, the flesh immediately parting and bleeding.

She opens her eyes, but not even a hint of malice can be found in her post-coitus bliss-filled eyes.

She scarily starts giggling, her piercing mischievously glinting. Butch freezes in fear. Her giggles turn into a short bout of laughter before she sits up and says, "This is _way_ too human, babe." as she pulls out the knife oh-so-casually.

She inhales, wipes her own blood off her chest with her left hand unsuccessfully, but it's clear as day to him. The stab wound is just magically healing itself right in front of Butch.

"W-what the fuck are you?"

In one quick move, he's laying on the ground, her on top of him, both of them still very much naked except for his horizontally ripped black shirt and her cape attached to her untied bra. "You, baby-boy, are a very _very_ good lay. Unfortunately, you're also a very very good _meal_."

She grins before stabbing his left tricep. Unlike hers, his blood spouts out like a fountain and straight into her waiting cupped-hands. After watching her drink his blood, he continues to watch her as she proceeds to chop off the majority of his left arm.

She positions herself above his head, after leaning down and making her first couple of licks on his amputation, she pauses. "Hard again?"

He looks down, figures he must be really twisted if he finds this whole thing sexy enough to want a second round. Well, he _is_ known for his metabolism...

Her chuckle is dark, deep and just as raspy as her speaking voice, yet feminine and distinctly _her_.

"Do you really wanna know what I am, Butch?" She asks, breathing him in.

He nods, sweating as she locks eyes with him, the tip of his nose just barely touching her forehead, her piercing as cold as ice. He breathes out, ruggedly; "what are you?"

"I'm a vampire, Butch... The worst part? We're _very_ sexually-depraved beings." She whispers before attacking his mouth.

A quick moment later and his erection is, yet again, buried to the hilt inside her.

She's riding him carelessly when she starts to ask; "Ah, uhm, this is, ah, going to sound fucking c-crazy, but mmmh, do you wanna turn? and get your, ah- arm back?"

"do it, turn me, turn me, turn me, fuck yeah"

Before he even realizes what he was saying, she reveals her fangs to him and bites her own hand. "D-drink, baby."

* * *

A month later, Doctor De Lisle is visited by Buttercup, she's accompanied by three others; a black haired young man, a blonde, and a ginger. Each of them share some things in common with Buttercup; rosy porcelain complexion with a plastic sheen, and bright eyes despite the colors.

What once were ocean blue eyes are now electric neon blue, once were hazel brown are now blood red, once were emerald green are now shamrock. The doctor knows this purely because of the news.

 _'Jojo triplets dead from car accident'_

Throughout the whole affair, not once did Butch 'Renette' let go of Buttercup's right hand.

* * *

 **A/N:** Happy (belated) Valentines from me to you. Also, I really hate writing sex scenes (cuz I don't know what tf I'm doin) but it was necessary here for the plot. Long story short, Buttercup is a vampire- Butch is a horny hoe, and it turns out, she is too. So she turns him into a vampire, but he refuses to drain either of his brothers from their blood. It kinda goes like this:

"That's basically cannibalism, I'm _not_ doing it."

"You're a vampire now, _my_ blood runs in your veins now."

"I'm still not doing it. Either you turn them too, or I'm leaving with them."

"Bitch, you wouldn't last a day without my vampire wisdom to guide you."

"Turn. Them."

Also, Buttercup asked the question 'doing this for free, right?' because she knew one of them was gonna ask for food- and if they didn't, she would've offered. Also, Buttercup's new phone- not really new, and not really hers. Lastly, 'Renette' cuz it sounds like the French word for 'reborn'.


	5. Man's Woman

**Title:** "Man's Woman"

a.k.a. it hurts to be the smart one

 **Summary:** In which Butch acknowledges that there's a certain imperfection in perfection.

 **Pairings:** Butch-centric Greens (featuring Brick who unintentionally makes Butch feel insecure)

 **Warnings Include:** Mature language, some out-of-character-ness and some other things...

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, you do, in fact, have a brain. Obviously. I mean, you're the one who gets A's and B's and C's _without_ having to study- and you get it without even cheating, you're just naturally armed with good memory, and maybe supervision that lets you look to others when you don't know the answer. That's not relevant right now, of course.

Anyways, speaking of looking to others-

There she is. The love of your life, the light in your eyes, The Rose to your Jack etcetera etcetera...

Seventeen years of age, Buttercup Utonium stands at 5'3- the shortest of her sisters, yet hell-blessed with the most sinful of womanly curves and swerves. One look at her and EVERY GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKING non-stupid male knows, Buttercup is a _man's_ woman.

She's passionate and vicious and knows things she shouldn't. She's witty, she's wild, she's willful. She ain't no _stupid wimpy lame-o_ girly female, BUT girly as it's gonna sound- Buttercup fights with her heart, expresses everything with her heart, and guards her heart like a fortress.

She's not like her sisters- or any girl for that matter, who would, nine times out of ten, keep quiet about what's bothering them. She's more likely to scream at you for the simplest of things and tell it to your face exactly what the fuck you did wrong.

She's explosive, and she's going to explode until she's let everything out. Until you or her are beaten, bruised and battered- breathing ruggedly. She's like that, and you're like that, and it's such a _beautiful and perfect_ match, and you're both more than okay with it but-

"Hey shithead." you say, greeting her as per normal occurrence, grabbing her by the waist.

She turns her body with your force, shares a quick glance with her sisters before nodding at them once.

"Sup, jerkface."

"want lunch?"

"duh, it's lunch time, doofus"

"I meant real lunch, 'Cup. C'mon, my treat."

"I can't skip Jour-

"I _know_. It'll be quick, let's go."

* * *

Nine months of dating. NINE.

You can't pinpoint when it started, but you can pinpoint when you've started noticing.

It was a deep laugh that cracks and snorts like a wild pig. It pierces the air and now that you've heard it, you can't seem to un-hear it. Forever identified as Brick's ugliest of laughs, his only imperfection now embedded in your good memory. Cursed be the gift. You approach your lunch table, asks "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing." Buttercup answers you playfully.

"She's just telling us what happened when Bossy Blossy found out that Buttercup tested into Advanced Algebra." Boomer says

"What? When did that happen?"

"I'll tell you later. Sit down and eat." She nonchalantly presents you with a bento comprised of her favorite pork donburi, and your favorite spicy prawns. There's even seven pieces of California Maki, and you just smile because you know that instead of fighting for the last piece, you'll both share it instead.

It was cute.

So cute that you forgot three important incidents;

1\. She sits in your lunch table even when you're not around.

2\. She told your brothers something first before you.

And finally, 3. She made Brick laugh.

* * *

The second clue was somewhere around the sixth month.

It took you longer to spot it, but you did.

Brick is intentionally third-wheeling.

 _"Are you ordering take-out?"_

 _"Nah, I'm heading out. Gonna meet with Buttercup and get some Micky D's-_

 _"Great! I'll get my keys."_

Brick is intentionally third-wheeling.

 _"Hey, did you guys see that new horror movie-_

 _"No. We should see it. The three of us."_

 _"Right... the three of us."_

Brick is intentionally third-wheeling.

 _"We seriously need to study. You and I cannot afford to fail this stupid History test."_

 _"But baaabe... It's such a boring subject."_

 _"Hey, I can tutor you guys if you want."_

Brick is intentionally third-wheeling.

 _"Oh, hey guys. I just made pizza. What're you...?"_

 _"Brick, God dammit! Close the door!"_

 _"Oh! Sorry Buttercup! Don't forget protection."_

 _"Shut the door, man!"_

BRICK IS INTENTIONALLY THIRD-WHEELING.

 _But why?_

* * *

The answer was on the third clue.

The third thing you start noticing, which should've been the first, is the fact that Brick is fire.

Brick is like fire in a sense that he berates, battles, and beguiles his _enemies_ smoothly and tactfully- sometimes not even exclusively. You and Boomer have had first-hand experience of what it feels like to be out-smarted by the red-eyed thinking demon-spawn plenty.

But then suddenly, Brick is ice. To you and to you _only_. To anyone else, he wouldn't hesitate to bring the heat. But to you? ice cold. It's almost like if you weren't sharing a living space, you wouldn't exist to him.

That's not good. Why?

Because Buttercup exists to him.

You find that, at first, it was him who makes the excuses of why;

 _"Oh, I was just teaching her about this equation."_

 _"We were just talking about you, bro!"_

 _"I was just asking about Prof U's new invention."_

 _"Did you know that she plays this game too?"_

Then suddenly it's her telling you why you've, _yet again_ , caught them hanging out.

 _"I'm going to come over later and teach Brick how to make this."_

 _"We're planning to go to the mall for this book signing, you should come with!"_

 _"Let me just tell your brother about this project I need help with."_

 _"I really don't wanna ask Blossom for help."_

HOLY CRAP\- it. is. super. frustrating. But it definitely shouldn't be such a big deal.

They're both allowed their rights to have friends.

Just... can they not be so... _them_? Also, is this jealousy?

What is this shit feeling, really?

By the end of the sixth month, it no longer felt like just you and her involved in this relationship. It felt like you, and her and brick- _emphasis on the comma_. So now, here you are.

* * *

So now here you are, about to confront this problem, head on- like she should be doing.

I mean, damn. You love her, but if there's sumthin' she wanna tell you, she ain't gotta spare your feelings 'bout it and just out with it, yeah? She's _Buttercup_ for goodness' sake.

How was he even supposed to breach the subject? He can't exactly go _"hey, it's not you it's me?"_ because that's wrong, and it's not him. _It's Brick. Brick, the demon-spawn, man-whore, motherfucking playboy, pencil-dick, shit ass, trash bag of a brother who just loooves to brag about how much better he is than you (or Boomer) even if it's unintentional. Who the fuck does he think he is?_

"Your silence is freaky, so I'm just gonna-

"Hey, wait, no! Sit back down, we need to talk."

Buttercup raises one meticulous eyebrow in inquiry. "you said this was gonna be quick, we're _done_ eating, let's go-

"It's going to be quick. Please, just... sit down." You inhale. This is it. "You know I- I love you, right?"

exhale


	6. What's in a name?

**Title:** "What's in a name?"

a.k.a. It also starts with a B

 **Summary:** In which we explore three different scenarios that could've decide Buttercup's name.

 **Pairings:** none

 **Warnings Include:** Some out-of-character-ness and some other things...

* * *

 _ **Scene 1: Butterfly**_

"Hi! What's your name?"

The man screams as he steps back from them, then realizes that this is exactly what he wanted to happen. "Oh, uhm. My name... is uhm, Professor! Professor Utonium. Hello."

"Hello Professor Utonium. It's very nice to meet you." The three of them says.

"It's very nice to meet you too. Uhm, what're your names?"

"Well, you made us. So shouldn't you also name us?" The girl in the middle says, she's a ginger with pink eyes.

"Oh, okay... this is so cool. Well now, let's see..." He crouches to be eye-level with them. His eyes lock with the ginger's own, the pinkness in them reminds him of the cherry blossoms just blossoming. "Because of your directness and your opening right up to me, I think I'll call you Blossom." He gestures to her.

The name elicits a giggle from the girl in his left, a blonde girl with baby-blue eyes. "Well aren't you all cute and bubbly?" Bubbly, huh? "That's it! You'll be my little Bubbles... So we have Blossom, Bubbles and-

"Achoo!" The girl with black hair sneezes effectively knocking her off her feet, and flying backwards all the way to the wall. His eyes widen and he runs to her.

"Are you alright?"

Her eyes open, she frowns upon seeing the damage. "Oh no..."

John looks behind him to see several chemicals and tools shaken, dropped and in the case of some fragile equipment- rendered unusable. There's even a crack on the spot of the wall where the girl hit it. How could one little sneeze cause such a large difference?

Then, like a light bulb turns on, he grins. "I'll name you **Butterfly**! In reference to the Butterfly Effect."

And so her fate is sealed.

She eventually grows up and they realize that her special power is a 'Butterfly Effect' simply because when Butterfly isn't fighting with them, his other two daughters' raw strength and energy are lowered by five percent. She's also the quickest to heal and recover, but there's no way to know if she has a larger chemical X reserve than her sisters so they just settle for calling it the 'Butterfly Effect'.

* * *

 _ **Scene 2: Bella**_

"note to self, good parents don't leave their kids home alone"

"Sugar, Spice, and Everything nice! Who would've guessed that's what little girls are actually made of! I still can't believe it worked but I actually made three perfect little girls! Three perfect normal little gi- ahhh!"

His unsolicited flight from slipping at the top of the stairs impel three girls into action. Blossom catches him, with Buttercup and Bubbles catching the gifts in quick flashes of pink, green and blue light energies respectively. He stares dumbfounded as Blossom says;

"Professor, you should be more careful when coming down the steps. You could get hurt."

"Hey! Are these for us?" Buttercup asks

He nods. They thank him before proceeding to tear up the wrappings, giggling and laughing all the way. His gaze drifts from their flying forms of light energy, to the broken round-bottom flask. It's still dripping chemical X residue onto the table, he decides he'll have to learn more of it's effect later.

"This is the best gift ever, Thank you... Dad." Bubbles tells him, making his already large smile even larger as she kisses his cheek.

The sun is barely up but you can count on the city to deliver the right furniture just after one phone call. He's surprised that none of it ended up getting stolen or something instead arriving at his household by Eight A.M after breakfast. Luckily the newly painted room is just about completely dry, but it did take the rest of the day to settle the girls into the house just so they know what appliance is for what.

On his way to the living room to collect his new daughters, he hears a very downtrodden sigh followed by a; "guess I'm just not pretty enough to be named or sumthin"

His eyes widen upon realizing exactly who said it. Fortunately for him, he's presented with the opportunity to fix his mistake once his black haired daughter exits the bathroom. "Oof" She went as she bumps into him. He holds her by the arms, "I'm sorry if I couldn't make up a better name for you. It was wrong of me. But you know, now that I've gotten to know you a little more... I think we should change your name to **Bella**. It's Spanish for beautiful, you know. I don't ever want you to think that you're not pretty enough or something."

"you're just saying that"

"No, I'm definitely not. After all, black hair and green eyes. I'll bet you no one else in this city has the same features. You're one of a kind, special and exotic. Beautiful. My precious Bella."

Her mouth scrunches to the side as one of her eyebrows raise. "Bella, huh? Be-lla. Bella... alright, fine. I'll take it."

"Great! We'll tell your sisters tomorrow. But first, let's tuck you in to bed, alright?"

After his little Bella has sailed off to dreamland, he says to himself; "note to self, good parents don't name their children carelessly"

Her name might've been changed from Buttercup to Bella but growing up, she remained with a poisonous and cutting tongue that dished out witty remarks that are, at times, just as (maybe more) painful as her punches. She did pride herself with her exotic beauty- Bubbles is the cutesy barbie baby-doll of the family but she's the beautiful one. Blossom is beautiful too, just in a fairy-fantasy way, not in a genetically impossible way. Professor was right, who else in the world had her luscious black hair paired with the brightest green eyes? Nobody, that's who. Nobody but her, Bella Utonium.

* * *

 ** _Scene 3: Bridgette_**

The man screams as he steps back from them, then realizes that this is exactly what he wanted to happen. "Oh, uhm. My name... is uhm, Professor! Professor Utonium. Hello."

"Hello Professor Utonium. It's very nice to meet you." The three of them says as they offer their hands for him to shake.

He takes his hand to the one nearest him, the black haired one, thinking it would be a cute little handshake- nope.

She takes his hand and proceeds to clutch it as she shakes it up and down. Once she's released her hold, he cringes as he feels as though she's left him with a hand of broken bones. "It's very nice to meet you too. Uhm, what're your names?"

The strength on that one, he thinks, must've been a side-effect of the chemical X. Hopefully that's the only side-effect, he'll have to teach them how to be careful with it.

"Well, you made us. So shouldn't you also name us?" The girl in the middle says.

"Oh, okay... this is so cool. Well now, let's see... Because of your directness and your opening right up to me, I think I'll call you Blossom." He gestures to her.

The name elicits a giggle from the left-most side, a blonde girl with baby-blue eyes. "Well aren't you all cute and bubbly? That's it! You'll be my little Bubbles..."

He eyes the triplets, "So we have Blossom, Bubbles and... **Bridgette**! Because it means strength. That's one strong grip you got there, do you think you three can do anything else?"

The triplets shrug in unison.

* * *

 **A/N:** I was bored, couldn't sleep, and kept wanting to know why the hell is Buttercup named Buttercup.

If anyone knows, please tell me. And don't give me that **_'because it also starts with a B'_** reason. I hate that reason. Literally, as a young impressionable child, that is the last thing you'd wanna hear. Like, what, am I not relevant enough for you to think up a good name? Professor was the worst parent in the Powerpuff Girls movie, you gotta admit that, mostly because he made sooo many mistakes.

For one, he left the kids alone to buy gifts in the middle of the night; They're in Townsville, the same city on the same night he literally just got mugged in (by the gangreen gang, no less). For two, he let Blossom hold a knife- it's a bread knife but still, she's five and hurtling globs of PB & J towards her sisters, oh yeah, nothing could possibly go wrong with that (In real life, do you trust your five year old with a bread knife? yeah, didn't think so, they might lick the knife!). For three, he left the girls in kindergarten without telling them that not everybody is like them, he should've explained to them that everybody is like him- A normal, powerless human that can't do things like they could, it's a simple enough explanation that their X-enhanced brain probably could understand it. For four, the Mojo scene. For five, why didn't he believe the girls?

You know what? I could go on and on and on, but let's not. I'm just a boy who thinks I could be a man and take the Professor's place, but let's not. Let's stop me right here. Anyways, review please and tell me why Buttercup is named Buttercup. (I don't have a way to read the comics)


	7. something about ambition

**Title:** "something about ambition"

a.k.a. Sneaky Slytherin Utoniums

 **Summary:** In which I sort the powerpuff girls into their Hogwarts house, and compare them to the Black sisters.

 **Pairings:** Blues / none

 **Warnings Include:** Some out-of-character-ness and some other things...

* * *

"Please come forward when I call your name." The woman, Professor Bellum, tells them.

Blossom didn't really know what to think of her much. Sarah Bellum is the head of House Slytherin; ambitious, cunning, and resourceful. That's not necessarily what everyone associates the house with, though, even after a whole hundred years or so post-Voldemort.

Professor Keane, on the other hand, looks so much more welcoming, Head of Hufflepuff, she is. There's also Professor Malfoy of Gryffindor, a half-blood modern version of the famous Scorpius Malfoy. And lastly, Ravenclaw's Head of House, Professor Dash- known everywhere for having a pegasus animagus form.

If she would be a Gryffindor, she'd be talking of her wonder instead of planning and plotting. If she would be a Hufflepuff, she'd be making friends instead of stepping back to observe. If she would be a Ravenclaw, she'd be spouting information not judging them.

Blossom doesn't consider herself a golden Hermione Granger, doesn't compare to a valor Susan Bones, isn't as wise as Luna Lovegood. She's an Andromeda Tonks who is quiet, who plots and plans, who conquers, who examines risks and can be bitingly harsh if so required. She's a Slytherin. A determined individual who follows every step of the recipe, self-made or no- not a quick thinker like Buttercup, not a creative thinker like Bubbles, Blossom doesn't _do_ improv. What she does is find the solution, tear it apart, figure out a way to solve it better and either share the better solution with her sisters or keep it for herself. Like that one infamous Slytherin Headmaster.

She's a loophole finder- not a rule _breaker_ like Buttercup, definitely far from a virtuous _follower_ like Bubbles. A logical person, not physical or emotional.

She is Blossom, _The_ 'Ice Queen' Blossom- emphasis on Queen. Calm, Cold, Collected.

The first Utonium Slytherin. Her father Jonathan, her uncle Eugene, her grandfather Eric, and her great grandfather Kenneth- all of them Gryffindors before her.

"Utonium, Blossom"

She braces herself to make history.

So with her head held high, and her pink eyes staring straight in order to not give anything away, the ingenious eleven year old sits herself down onto the stool.

* * *

She and Bubbles try to keep their smiles on their faces even if they're thoroughly shocked by the hat's announcement of Blossom's permanent placement in Slytherin. Sure, they were technically just a quarter un-pure, but they were also American immigrants who don't have a lot of connections. Hopefully this doesn't hinder their sister's social life- Blossom have had experience with bullies before, mostly from their muggle school due to her magical pink eyes.

"Utonium, Bubbles"

Buttercup holds her breath. Despite having teased Bubbles about it before, she sincerely does secretly know Bubbles is Gryffindor material. Wouldn't it be horrid, though? If all three of them were in separate houses?

"Hufflepuff!"

She looks at her little sister with an encouraging smile, nods once. Bubbles returns this nod before her gaze, Buttercup assumes, is drawn to their older sister.

"Utonium, Buttercup"

 _'Slytherin, Slytherin, Slytherin'_

The ravenette suddenly finds herself chanting.

 _'Are you sure, Buttercup Utonium? You have the makings of a great Gryffindor, you know your mind reminds me of another short-tempered, passionate Gryffindor...'_

 _'I'm sure, Mister Hat'_

 _'Alright then, better be...'_

"Slytherin!"

* * *

At first, Bubbles didn't know how much Buttercup's rash decision to join Blossom in Slytherin indirectly has such a big impact on the way people see her.

And then eventually she knew.

It took until fifth year but she knew.

If Bubbles stopped wearing her hair in pigtails, the people probably _would_ be reminded that they're triplets. That's just it though, _they were triplets_ , and they were of same height, same facial structure. same body structure, same shoe size, _bleedin' same bloody everything!_ If her pigtails are what makes her a separate entity from them, then all the better.

Why did Buttercup have to grow her hair anyways? And why did Blossom stop wearing her red bow? not that Bubbles liked that bow much, she believes the bow clashes with her sister's green and silver ensemble _quite_ horribly.

The Utonium Twins, they call them- and their little sister. The Blonde Utonium. Pureblood Americans.

She could have told anyone that their mother is a half blood but what business is it of theirs? Let them assume what they want, and let her dear sisters have peace.

Let them praise her older sisters for being prodigious experts in Potions and Defense respectively. As well as in Parry club, and Duelling club. Bubbles outshines them both in Charms and Choir, so there's that; but Blossom will always come with a fencing gear on Saturday breakfasts, while Buttercup can be found with a questionable book. Bubbles carries an extra weight too, a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

* * *

Everything is perfect.

Until the Triwizard Tournament.

They were in their sixth year, and only the seventh years were allowed to compete.

So how did they end up here?

"Who could've entered your name?" She asks worriedly

"Dad and Uncle Hugh will fix this, Bubbs. Don't worry." Buttercup attempts to comfort her.

"But I'm not worried, girls... I mean, don't you believe I'll make it out alive even if I don't win?" Bubbles tells them, pure precious princess that she is.

"Of course you'll make it out alive. We'll make sure you do, and whoever did this is going to pay." She, Blossom, vows. The glint in her eyes promises pain to whomever caused this.

* * *

At the back of her mind, a little voice reminds her that Bubbles is more than capable at _Charms_. And what is the Triwizard cup if not spelled with a shit load of charms?

She's a Gryffindor in Slytherin's clothing. Or so she was until six bleeding years of living with snakes eventually made her hone an inner Severus Snape. Wait, no, that's an unfitting comparison. Let's go with inner Narcissa Malfoy instead, yeah? Yeah, so.

She learned to adapt. She learned to recognize silent power moves, shows of higher authority, and bitter-salty vengeance. She also learned to recognize that when snakes want to prove themselves, they don't hesitate to go big. Snakes were dramatic like that, it's part of their regal appeal.

Being a Slytherin for so long now, she couldn't help but let out that one burst of Gryffindor-act by suddenly sneaking into the infirmary after the first task.

"Figured out your flower yet?" She asks in her raspy and feminine voice.

Bubbles shots up, obviously in pain, still, after climbing a bunch of giant living vines. Even if the vines were slanted, they all had to hug it and climb anyways after passing the twenty feet mark. The vines just get more and more bothersome the closer to fifty feet high the competitors get. There's a big difference between Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Triwizard Champions and the Overgrown Irritable Vines.

"Not yet. Honestly Buttercup, I haven't even looked at it after grabbing it. Did daddy stop suspecting Master Hardy yet?"

Who? Oh yeah, the blonde man from California with a ponytail and glasses. He always has one too many buttons unbuttoned.

"What do you think, dear sister?" Buttercup asks

Bubbles shrugs. The older sister laughs. She leans down to be face to face with her sister, showing those pearly whites as she smiles like a shark about to feast on its prey.

"Dear dear dearest sister... You might've fooled Blossom so easily but not me. I know _for certain_ that you've put your own name in the cup. Trust that I am the one sister between us three with the most connection in all four houses of Hogwarts. It just so happens that our two houses inhabit a dungeon that's only got the one staircase going up... Care to tell me what you're trying to prove? Or shall I figure it out for myself?"

Buttercup hears her little sister swallow audibly before stepping back. The blonde responds once Buttercup gives her back her personal space; "I don't know what you're talking about, Buttercup. Now, if it's all the same to you, I'd really like to return to my sleep."

Buttercup crosses her arms, tilts her head up, looks down at Bubbles before turning to leave, knowing her youngest sister wouldn't dare hurt her. She does murmur one last thing before she left; "If you believe the consequences to be worth the risks, then you did right by doing it anyways."

She replays the memory of that talk, shows it to Blossom via pensieve the next day and they conclude that Bubbles really did put her own name in the cup.

* * *

If the blonde is nervous enough not to recognize Buttercup's bluff, then the blonde sister is guilty. Were she not guilty, she wouldn't have dismissed Buttercup like so; Bubbles is simple like that, fortunately.

Blossom decides she'll have to watch Bubbles more carefully now. Bellatrix Black has always been one to watch, Bellatrix Lestrange was even more so.

* * *

She didn't win first place- not because that would be too suspicious, but because she's tired and learnt her lesson. She won second place. People could theorize about how her older sisters would've won the whole shebang but at this point she didn't care anymore.

She's eighty thousand golden galleons richer, and she's got a boyfriend out of the deal too. Boomer Jojo, one of the Ilvermorny Champion's brother.

In the end it was the Russian, Alexei Solomon from Koldovstoretz that won the tournament, with Brick Jojo still suffering a blow to his ego for coming in last- at least he was alive and relatively unscathed, though.

The horror from finding out that the marks from the fish-leech hybrids aren't going anywhere makes her regretful enough to, one day, jokingly say to Buttercup;

"Y'know what? Everything I've learned from that crazy phase made me realize that the risks I took are all worth it. Still, it would've been nice if I could walk down the aisle wearing that pretty blue dress instead of this white one."

After all, who wanted to get married but couldn't wear a slit-gown because she's permanently covered in hickeys from the waist down?

* * *

 **A/N:** I don't really know how a sisterhood works because obviously I have no sisters/siblings aside from that one older brother that I have. Still, I'll give you (guest reviewer) what you wanted. Thanks to everyone else for reading, I guess?


End file.
